Spirit Raven
by MaoIsSleepy
Summary: Riven and her rare raven companion, Karasu, have been on their own for years. Then Riven enters the Hunter Exam to find the answers behind the tragedy that took away her little sisters. With the help of her new friends, especially from a blonde boy with a past darker than her own, Riven has no doubt she'll become a hunter... If only the exam were easy... Kurapika/Oc.
1. Spirit of a Raven

Riven braced herself against busy seaman as they brushed past her. The sea spray made her skin glisten, and her eyes began to sting from the salt water. However, her demeanor never diminished. She determinedly wove her way around the busy men and found herself on a wooden dock. She heard a dingy clang, and shouting voices. Personally, she found hard labor such as a sailor's rather disgusting. The men sweated like pigs, ate like them, looked like them, and lived like them. Who would want such a life?

Thankfully, she wasn't questioned when she requested to board a ship that was preparing for departure. Two men slid a walking plank from the side to the ship and onto the dock, while Riven waited patiently. Climbing aboard, she took close notes on every passenger. Most- actually, all were men. Most had facial hair, with scars marking their bodies. Riven unconsciously touched her wrist, which was covered in a black, velvet band.  
As she continued down the ship, she noticed that she wasn't the only child aboard. An especially young lad with the strangest look on his face, weird black-spiked hair, green shorts, along with a matching jacket, and a fishing pole strapped to his back, was leaning so far over the edge of the railing that Riven swore he should have fallen. He was waving and shouting like a maniac.

"Just wait, Aunt Mito!" He bellowed. "I'm going to become a great hunter, and I'm going to find my dad!" Riven wondered if he felt any shame in doing so, for the ship would not leave port for another twelve minutes.  
But other than his yelling, this boy caught her attention because of his age. He couldn't have been older than twelve, and Riven herself was only sixteen. She had expected to be the youngest one, at least on the ship.

That ship happened to be leaving Whale Island. And its destination?

The Hunter Exam.

* * *

Riven lost track of how many hours she sat alone in the passenger section of the ship. Well, of course there was other's around her (all men), but none thought to strike up a conversation with her. She didn't care; most seemed like they were hardly worth her time. She may have nodded off to sleep right then, huddled in a corner, a blanket wrapped around her, but suddenly something rustled inside her blouse.

Black, beady eyes peeked up at her from its 'nest'. Riven smiled softly and stroked the bird's back. It seemed to nestle into her hand.

"It seems you woke up, Karasu (Kar-as; the U is silent, for those of you who don't already know. That's Japanese for Raven). Riven dug the raven from her clothes and giggled when he squirmed. She poked at his overturned belly softly.

She had slipped the white bird a small amount of sleeping drugs so that he would not have flown away when she had boarded the boat. No animal would really feel comfortable leaving land for weeks at a time. Of course, Karasu was tame enough not to permanently leave her side, so even if she were to return after leaving, the Raven would no doubt find her. However, she didn't think she could go anywhere without him.  
To be honest, if Karasu wasn't with her, she would never have been able to take the Hunter Exam. She would have been too lonely. Only when the bird squawked did Riven rise to her feet.  
"Come on, sweetie. I'm sure you need some exercise." She made her way across the passenger room, out into the hall and up the stairs to the deck.

* * *

Riven felt the ocean spray on her face as she watched a tiny white dot in the distance dive. Ravens weren't fishers; they were scavengers, but Karasu was no ordinary bird.

* * *

**Flashback (POV: Riven)**

Back in her homeland, a place with gray skies and people who were just as gloomy, Riven had been walking home. She had recently been visiting the library, after she had found an unrequited love for reading. At the time, she was carrying a book even an adult would have trouble with. The ground had been moist lately from a strange amount of rain, but what Riven found at the trunk of a sycamore tree she happened to pass was anything but expected.

At first she noticed nothing, but as she continued on the dirt path a distinct chirping was heard. Crouching next to the tree, Riven gasped.

A little hatchling, who couldn't yet fly, was hopping from foot to foot; often it lost balance, tipped over, and hopped right back up. Its downy feathers puffed out, so it looked like a cotton ball, since it was as white as snow.  
It was cawing its voice out, most likely calling out for food.

Luckily, Riven had read a book on avians just last week.  
She only had to look at it to see that no bones were broken; the bones of a bird are so delicate that most forms of injury are visible from a distance. Riven peered up through the new coming foliage, since it was early spring. She could easily see a brown nest of thatching and twigs. She could not, however, see any other birds. At first. She peered more closely to find a large, gray chick. She frowned; this white bird on the ground must have come from this nest. First, the size of the nest was so large, the owners were more than likely to scare other birds away. Therefore, it was probably the only nest in that particular tree. Second, that avain book stated that most hatchlings who fell out of their nests instinctively stay near their former home, in hopes to be saved. More often than not, the chicks don't survive the fall, or die of starvation.

Studying the gray, larger hatchling, she managed to rack her brain and identify it as a Common Cuckoo; a brood parasite (a kind of kleptoparasitism found among birds, fish or insects, involving the manipulation and use of host individuals either of the same (intraspecific brood-parasitism) or different species (interspecific brood-parasitism) to raise the young of the brood-parasite). This bird must have pushed this white chick out in order to make more room for itself.

Being twelve, and not heeding anyone's warnings of germ and disease, Riven tucked her book under her arm and scooped the white hatchling up. She brought it up to her face and blinked. She could swear it was a Raven; one of the few birds the book had had pictures _and_ descriptions of. However, the downy feathers of a Raven were gray or black, like the sky. This bird was as blank as an unpainted canvas.  
She hurried home, careful not to rattle the bird.

At her make shift home, Riven had taken a cardboard box and lined it with blankets. Then she lowered the hatchling into the box. He (she just assumed, since she had no idea how to tell) continued to squawk. Sighing, Riven recalled that Raven's ate many things as an adult, but the first years was crucial for a good, proper diet. She knew she needed organic, nutritious... Worms, right?  
Riven never really hated bugs until she read a book on them. However, she decided to suck it up and grabbed a shovel.

"Now, you stay right there," she commanded the black, beady eyed bird as she slipped her boots on. "I'm getting supper."

Thankfully, since the ground was damp, she didn't have to go very far, nor dig very deep. In no time, she had twenty worms in hand.

She remembered reading that, in most cases, when the parent had caught food, they first devoured it, digested it a tad, and then regurgitated it back up to spit feed their baby.

No way was Riven going to do that. She grabbed a rock, bounded back inside her home, and set the worms on the table, next to the bird. She grabbed the rock, a small portion of the worm pile, and crushed them inside of a plastic cup. The juices swirled with each other, and eventually she had crushed all twenty worms. She knew that the parents also secreted a special fluid that help the worm go down the throat more easily, so Riven added a tiny amount of water. Then she grabbed a turkey beaker and filled it with the home-made remedy.

"Open up..."

* * *

The next day, Riven returned to the library. She found a very nice book on Aves; specifically ravens.

She could hardly believe it when she found what she was looking for.

'...although ravens are almost always black, there do exist exceptionally rare white ravens."

She sped through the whole book, but nothing else was mentioned about white birds. She picked up another book, this one written by an Ornithologist named Mike Yip.

"...the birds are thought to be leucistic, not albino, the result of a genetic defect producing chicks lacking normal pigmentation."

"...White ravens are the result of the mating of two common ravens with the same genetic defect. The same pair could produce generations of the white raven, since common black ravens are monogamous and long-lived."

"...leucism is the result of reduction of all types of pigmentation, while albinism is the reduction of just melanin."

As She continued reading, she discovered more and more about her new little friend.  
One article mentioned Leucistic animals more often than not had blue eyes. Karasu (as she decided to name him, so people knew what he was) was a rarity among rarities, with his black eyes; normal eyes. She also read about normal ravens; of course, that's what he was, after all. His color had nothing to do with what he was on the inside. She learned that ravens were considered intelligent animals, with good intuitions and problem solving skills. They were Kleptoparasites; meaning the often found their food or need material for their nests by stealing them (however, they didn't lay their eggs in other's nest). Their lifespan was anywhere from thirteen years to fourty-three (the oldest raven ever).

After finishing the first three books on ravens, she pulled out a red one with gold stitching. It was a very old book, as she deduced from the wooden back. Opening it, she saw that it was written by a member of an ancient Native tribe, the Haida.

Before finishing the book, Riven also read something about a Spirit Raven. According to Haida legend, Spirit Raven was well respected for bringing the sun and moon to the people of earth. There were several illustrations of what could have been a dove with an oddly shaped beak in mid flight, clutching two round marbles in his claws.

"...In our oral traditions, Raven was originally white. There are days and days of stories of Raven, as he... Haphazardly brings the world into existence as we know it. During that process he steals the sun and moon from their caretakers, flies through the smoke hole in the long house and brings light to the world. And when he flew through the smoke hole, he became black. Some people view the white raven as being Raven in his truest form having to undergo challenges and sacrifices to bring about better good for people..."

By the time she left the library, she had already read four books, and had two more checked out. Both of them were on ravens, of course.

So Riven had raised and tamed Karasu for four years. The hardest part, she had to admit, was teaching him how to fly (it involved flapping her arms like ahe wasn't right in the head, and leaping off of stones. Don't ask for anymore than that).

Once she had done that, she let him catch his own food, and she witnessed him steal food from other human beings, whom he had no reason to be scared of. She only taught him how to fish when the townspeople, who often saw her with the bird perched on her shoulder, threatened to kill him if he continued be a nuisance.

That summer, most rodents were rare. There had been a drought for months, and Riven feared Karasu would die. So she took him to a river, rolled up her pants and sleeves, and attempted to catch fish with her bare hands. She only succeeded twice, but Karasu caught on quickly.

Unfortunately, the white raven could only do so in rivers. Lakes were too large for him, and he relied on the rushing water to predict where the prey was headed.

* * *

"That's odd," Riven heard a voice say. She her heart jumped in her chest so quickly it hurt.

Back on the ship, Riven realized she had been staring out in the ocean for quite a while. She turned to the speaker, shocked to find that it belonged to a boy around her age.

He had stormy gray eyes, blonde hair, and fair skin. He was wearing a poncho like garb, a royal blue trimmed in red. Riven followed his gaze out back to sea, and realized that he had been referring to her little white companion.

Of course, the bird had not caught anything, but Riven had not realized that he had wondered off a little too far for her to feel comfortable.

Hastily, she wet her lips, put her fingers up to them, and whistled loudly, but shortly. In an instant, Karasu flipped directions and sped back towards the ship.

"He's yours?" Riven nodded. "I knew it was weird for a bird to be this far out at sea. We're nowhere near land," the boy continued. He spoke mostly to himself, like he was just stating facts and didn't want to start a conversation. Luckily for him, Riven wasn't that social. She might not have said anything at all, but she decided to anyways.

"You're very keen," She said softly. She meant for him to hear, of course. Her voice was just naturally quiet. Karasu was still several meters away when he began to squawk. He seemed to panic and darted off in one direction, but switched again, then switched again. He lost a feather, and Riven saw it lightly float down to the water's surface. Confused, she whistled again, holding her left arm out. It was covered in bandages; not from injuries, but to prevent Karasu from clawing her skin off.

The bird seemed to calm as he returned the rest of the way to the ship and onto Riven's out-stretched arm.  
She brought him up to her cheek as he nuzzled her.

"Is he alright?" The boy questioned politely, no doubt confused by the bird's actions. Riven glanced at him.

"He's fine." She then began to turn around. "I suggest you head below deck; there's going to be a storm."

* * *

Back in the passenger area, Riven slipped a little bit of sleeping drugs to Karasu. He hated storms, and she didn't need him panicking in such a small area, much like he had done moments earlier. She didn't have to worry about permanent damage; the drug was made from a home remedy, involving a special tree sap that makes you drowsy just from sniffing it.

It was going to take a few minutes for it to fully take effect, so she planned on letting him hop around her feet until then.

The lower deck was, unlike before, crowded with passengers. The rolling and swaying of the ground beneath her feet was hardly noticeable; she spent years swimming in a river with rushing, freezing cold water.  
Suddenly, after an unnaturally large bump, and the sensation of falling, Karasu squawked. He panicked, hopping foot from foot in a frenzy of white feathers. Hastily, in an attempt to calm him, Riven stuck out her hand and petted his neck. He seemed to freak even more, increasing his volume. No matter what she tried, Riven couldn't get him to stop. It was a good thing all of the men were passed out, sick and nauseous. Finally Riven lost her patience. Quickly, yet carefully and mindfully, she scooped Karasu up and cuddled him to her chest, taking a deep breath.

"_Hush-a-by, don't you cry, go to sleepy my little baby._

When you wake, you shall have all the pretty little horses.

Blacks and Bays, Dapples and Grays, coach and six a little horses.

_Hush-a-by, don't you cry, go to sleep my little baby."_

Almost instantly, the white Raven calmed, and stopped flapping. He cocked his head and listened to the rest of the song. When she stopped, Riven felt something was off. She looked up... To see the twenty closes men around her had fallen silent. They weren't moaning, nor were they bracing themselves for incoming breakfasts. Riven scooted her knees up to her chest and blushed. She didn't like it when people heard her voice; she felt too vulnerable and open when she was singing. She hid her reddening cheeks in her lap, her breath quickening.

She didn't have them closed for more than a minute when someone called for her.

"Hey!" At first she didn't comprehend that the only person speaking was referring to her, but she felt a tap on her shoulder. That was odd; Karasu was right next to her, and he always attacked whoever got within certain proximity of her. She raised her blue eyes up to large brown ones.

"Hey, that was you singing right?" The young boy asked. It was the same one who was shouting right before the ship left port, with a fishing pole strapped to his back.  
Too shocked to even speak, Riven gave a small nod. The boy with the spiky black hair grinned.  
"Hey, listen, would you mind singing that song to some of the others? They're not feeling so well!" Riven blinked at his words.  
"Alright..." she said, unsure of how else to answer. The boy rose to his feet, and she followed suit, with her bird perched on her arm.  
"This guy is probably the worst. I already fetched for some water." They boy, never missing an upbeat beat, weaved to the center of the room, which was crowded with men in pain. Riven slowly followed, kneeling next to the man the boy was referring to. His face was totally green.

"W-w-wa-ater," he croaked. Riven cringed, but lowered her arm to the deck so Karasu could hop down. She cleared her throat as the boy smiled up at her encouragingly. When he felt her throat was good and clear, and when her shoulders were finally relaxed, she took another deep breath.  
This time she made sure to sing loud enough that everyone in the room could hear her; maybe she could help others, too?  
_  
"Hush-a-by, don't you cry, go to sleep my little baby._

When you wake, you shall have all the pretty little horses.

Blacks and Bays, Dapples and Grays, coach and six a little horses.

_Hush-a-by, don't you cry, go to sleep my little baby._

Baby, sleep now, don't you cry, and hush-a-by, and go to sleep.

Hush-a-by, don't you cry, angels from on high shall guard you

_through the night, Clear and bright, this their song to earth they send you._

Baby sleep, do not stir, sleep 'till morning light approaches.

Hush-a-by, don't you cry, go to sleep my little baby.

Blacks and, black and bays, Dapples and grays, coach and six a little horses.

Hush-a-by, don't you cry, go to sleep my little baby.

Go to sleep my little baby."

Riven herself could admit her singing voice was nice; it was as sweet as honey, and mature, like a young women's rather than a teenagers. It was really the only thing she was actually good at. She realized that she had closed her eyes, and when she opened them, she found a silent room with only the sway of the ship. The boy smiled up at her with big eyes.

"You're really good!" he exclaimed. Just then, the door opened and a cabin boy rushed in, a cup in his hand.  
"Here's your water!" Gasped out, handing the glass to the boy. He grinned gratefully, lifting the man at their knees up so he could lean his head on his lap

"Thank you, Katsuo-san!" he said, taking the glass and pressing it up to the sick man's lips. "Here you go." After a few gulps, the boy set the half-full cup on the ground.

"Say," he spoke to Riven with a hopeful face, "will you sing again so Katsuo-san can hear you?" She opened her mouth to answer, possibly yes, but the captain, a pot-bellied man with a pipe in hand, appeared at the doorway.

* * *

In the captain's office stood seven people; the Captain, a sailor, the navigator (who wasn't even facing them), the young boy, the blonde one, a man in a suit with a briefcase, and Riven. There were eight people if you counted Karasu, who hardly seemed to be nodding off to sleep at all.

'I may not have given him enough drugs. He was drowsy there for a moment, but now he's waking up.' She thought, stroking his breast while she waited for the captain to continue.

"First, tell me you names." The youngest one of them shot his hand in the air.

"I'm Gon!" He exclaimed, grinning. The blonde boy crossed his arms.  
"I'm Kurapika."  
"It's Leorio," the man in the suit said. He looked skeptical about this whole conversation.  
"Riven," She answered shortly, giving a curt nod. She felt the ground sway slightly underneath her feet.

"Why do you want to become hunters?" the captain continued. Before anyone could answer, Leorio tensed.

"Hey! If you're not an examiner, you can't boss us around!" He snarled, his finger pointed.

"Just answer the Question," the captain said, bored. Riven decided at that moment that, if she were to ever befriend Leorio, she would tell him just how annoying his loud mouth could be. Riven thought he was going to add something else, but Gon butted in.

"My dad is a hunter..." He began, gaining everyone's attention. "I left Whale Island because I wanted to know why my dad desired it so much!" Riven almost smiled; he didn't say it like he wanted pity. This boy was just honest. That was a good quality.  
"Hey, Kid!" Leorio looked down on him. "You're not supposed to answer that question!"

"Why can't I tell him why I'm here?" Gon asked innocently. As Leorio continued to complain, Riven tried her best to speak over him; a great feat, considering her silent demeanor.  
"I'm looking for someone... Well, two people actually; my younger sisters." She was a tad honored that Leorio and Gon had stopped arguing just long enough to listen. Then she heard Leorio say,

"Not team players, huh?" Riven glanced at them nonchalantly as Karasu gave a short squawk to show his annoyance.

"I agree with Leorio," Kurapika said suddenly. They would have found out why sooner if Leorio wasn't such a sensitive- Never mind.

"Hey, aren't you younger than I am?" He squawked.

"It's quite simple to avoid pesky questions by offering a plausible lie," Kurapika explained, ignoring him.

"Hey, are you listening to me?"

"However, it's shameful to rely upon deceit." Riven wondered why the question was so 'pesky' in the first place. Of course it was nobody's business, but the captain did ask, and he could easily have thrown any of them overboard.

Kurapika continued,  
"That said, if I were to tell you the truth, I would be exposing my deepest secret." He put his hand to his heart. "That is why I cannot provide an answer." Riven peered at him in curiosity. She felt his aura... It was very angry... She suddenly had trouble breathing. From Karasu's soft clicking, she knew he could feel it, too, whatever it was.  
"Hey, you! Don't ignore me!" Leorio cried. Riven wondered what was wrong with him and pointing at people.

"In other words," the captain took a deep huff of his pipe, "you refuse to answer my question. Hey, Katsuo," he said, looking at the sailor at his left. The boy's back automatically straightened. "Tell the examination board that we have two more drop outs."  
All four examinees gave him looks of surprise and shock.

"W-what?" Riven realized that the test was already started; suddenly she saw why the captain had called all them here. She didn't recall Kurapika feeling sick from the storm; in fact, wasn't he reading in a hammock? And Leorio was eating an apple... Gon of course had been helping the other passengers, but what had she done? She was huddled in a corner, playing with a bird... Had her singing helped her pass? It didn't appear as though the others caught on so quickly.

"You still haven't figured it out?" the captain sighed. "The Hunter Examination has already begun. There are as many hunter wannabes as there are stars in the skies," he clarified. "The Examiners don't have the time or the resources to review them all. So, they hire people like us to trim the fat.

"I've already reported that everybody else on this ship had to withdraw. If they can't handle a little storm like that, they'd stand no chance in the Hunter Examination's later stages. In other words, you only proceed to the main exam if I pass you. So think carefully before you answer my question."

Riven understood now just how many people were willing to risk everything to become a hunter.

"Should have told us that sooner," she heard Leorio whine. "I would have-"

"I'm the only survivor of the Kurta clan," Kurapika interrupted. "Four years ago, they were annihilated by a band of criminals. I wish to become a hunter to hunt that band down." He said with a determined face. "The Phantom Troupe."

"So you want to become a bounty Hunter?" The captain asked in curiosity. "The Phantom Troupe is a class-A bounty. Not even the most grizzled Hunters can touch them. You're throwing away your life." He didn't sound like he much cared, actually.

Kurapika nodded, "I do not fear death. I only fear that my rage will fade over time." Suddenly, Riven felt the rise in air pressure again. She felt Karasu shift feet on her arm.

Leorio scoffed. "So in other words, you want revenge? Does that require that you become a Hunter?"

"That may be the stupidest question I ever heard, Leorio," the blonde shot back, smirking.  
"That's Leorio-SAN to you!"  
"Places only accessible to Hunters... Information otherwise unattainable... Actions otherwise impossible...There are more reasons that your brain could possibly handle..." Leorio clenched his fists. Riven blinked...  
'Did he just call him stupid?' Riven was positive Leorio was going to sock the blonde in the face, but Gon leapt in-between them, oblivious to the tension.

"Why do you want to become a Hunter, Leorio-san?" Obviously flattered, the man straightened his posture.

"I'll put this simply... I want money." His demeanor did a 180. "Money can get you anything!" He grinned, imagining the possibilities. "The hottest rides... The best liquor!" He continued to do a little jig until Kurapika, once again, interrupted him.

"You can't buy class with money, Leorio."

To be honest, Riven thought that was pretty funny; however, the black haired man didn't take it as lightly as she had. He turned to glare at the teenager. Then he turned his back on him and suggestively headed to the door.

"That's three times no," muttered Leorio. "Step outside," he demanded, straightening his jacket. "I'll end the filthy Kurta bloodline, here and now."  
Kurapika glared daggers at him.  
"Take that back, Leorio!" He gritted his teeth. "Take that back." Leorio glanced over his shoulder, his eyes narrowed.  
"That's Leorio-san to you." He then disappeared from the room, a malicious Kurapika stroking after him.  
"Hey, boys!" The captain called. "I'm not finished yet!" He made his way after them, but was blocked by Gon.

"It's okay. Let them go." The captain gave him a bewildered expression. "Mito-san once told me, "if you want to get to know someone, you have to make an effort to learn why they're angry.' It's important for them to understand why they're mad," The boy explained. "So we should let them handle this themselves." The Captain backed down, smirking to himself.  
"That is very wise," Riven told him, giving off a soft smile. Gon grinned up at her.  
"Mito-san is super kind, and smart!" Riven cocked her head.  
"Is that your mother?" Gon shrugged.  
"Sort of." Just then, the navigator shouted.  
"Captain!" Riven and Gon shot their eyes out the window. There, in the midst of the giant wave, was twister.  
"A water Sprout!"  
"Drop those sails," the captain ordered, taking charge. He took complete control of the steering wheel, wrestling with the waves. "All men on deck!"

"Y-yes, sir!" Katsuo solider him, rushing out the door.  
"I'll help, too!" Gon announced, bouncing after him. Riven nearly lost her balance when, after a large bump, Karasu panicked and took to the air. He instinctively flew for the open air, abandoning the captain's quarters.

"Karasu!" Riven yelped, dashing after him. He was usually better behaved than this.

Outside, as it was storming, Riven followed her spirit raven to one of the ship's masts. Luckily, the frenzied bird didn't perch at the very top, but one of the lower level sail-branches. He didn't like the wind that high up. She pressed her fingers to her lips and whistled, but her friend must not have heard her from the wind.  
Immediately, Riven hoisted her body weight on one of the foot holds. She was two feet of the ground when she heard a sickening snapping sound. Then there was the cry of a whip, and She witnessed a flash of red. Red... She gasped as Katsuo, in a red shirt, was whipped back, flying through the air.  
From her leverage, all Riven had to do was step down on the rail of the side. After she did that, she braced herself in order to stop his momentum. The flailing Boy hit her with full force, sending them both flying backwards... And over the edge. Riven gritted her teeth and tightened her grip around Katsuo.

It seemed to happen faster than lightening. She saw Kurapika and Leorio hang over the edge and reached for the two of them, but nothing connected. She extended her own arm, since she was vertically falling now, by to no avail.  
Just as she believed she was on her own, about to plunge into the depths of the sea, a flash of green filled her vision. Then there was a hand grabbing hers, and a face in her face. She felt her shins submerged in the Icy ocean, and Katsuo put twice the amount of strain on her shoulder, but she managed to hang on.  
"Pull them up!" She heard a man shriek. In no time, practically the whole crew was peering over the edge, pulling Kurapika and Leorio up, then her savior, then her and Katsuo up.  
She gasped heavily when she fell to her knees on the hard, soaked deck. Her hair, which was very long, covered most of her face, unusually heavy from being wet (it was raining pretty hard).  
She tried her best not to shake as she rose to her feet, grinning like she never had before.

"Thank you, Gon-san," She said to the person who launched himself over the edge of the ship to grab her hand. He laughed, helping her to her feet.  
"Gon is just fine."

* * *

When the water sprout was gone, and the sun was shining brilliantly on the ship, Kurapika and Leorio thought it was a good idea... To chew Riven and Gon out.

"What were you thinking?"  
"How reckless can you get?" Kurapika questioned his hands on his hips.  
"Riven, it was obvious you wouldn't have stopped him from going overboard without taking you with him; he's twice your body mass!"

"Do you realize," Leorio continued for him, "that if we hadn't grabbed your legs, you'd be Shark Bait right now?"

"You're _twice_ as reckless!" Riven smiled fondly as Karasu nuzzled her neck. After the storm had ended, he returned to her side like he had never freaked out in the first place.  
Gon grinned up at the two happily.  
"But you did catch me. You both did."  
Kurapika glanced at Leorio, smiling softly. He sighed deeply.  
"Well, I guess so."

Just then, the four heard someone approach. It was Katsuo, who was jogging towards them and laughing gratefully.  
"Hey. Gon, thank you; you saved my life!" He bowed. Gon giggled.  
"I couldn't have done it alone, Katsuo-san!" He implied, twitching his head at the other three. Katsuo turned serious. He bowed lower.  
"Thank you very much!"  
Riven smiled.  
"It was worth it," she assured.  
"No need to thank me..." Kurapika agreed.  
"W-well, yeah. I'm glad you're alright." With one last grateful look, Katsuo stood and began to turn.  
"Well, I'll be returning to my station, then." The four watched him leave for a moment, feeling fulfilled, when Kurapika said,  
"I apologize for my rude behavior. I'm Sorry, Leorio-san." It Riven a moment to realize that he had been referring to his insults from earlier.  
"W-why the sudden change?" The black haired man stuttered. "We sound like strangers. Just call me Leorio. Leorio is fine." He assured, waving him off. He then looked him in the eye.  
"I take back everything I said. I was wrong. I'm sorry, too."  
"No, it's okay..." The heartfelt apologizes were interrupted by the rolling chuckling of the captain, you stood at the door way, smoking a pipe.  
"I like you guys!" He took a puff of smoke and waddled out onto the deck and into the sun. He then began to make his was up the stairs to the second deck.

"I'll take responsibility to take you four to the port closes to the exam site." He told them as he passed them.

"What about your test?" Riven questioned. The captain paused and turned to look at them.  
"It's my decision to make... And all four of you pass!"

* * *

**A/N: Well, to be honest, this was an experiment. I recently got into Hunter x Hunter, but I have seen both series (1999 and 2011). I loved them both, but I'm more familiar with the 2011 version, so that's what this will be written off of. If you haven't seen it, there are very minor differences. Basically, the animation and colors are more modern. **

** I would like to apologize for any errors. I tried reading through this, but It was quick, so I probably missed a few things. Not to mention I wrote this on my Ipod (my computer was occupied) so there are a LOT of autocorrections I had to correct (Irony; or is it? I mean, every keeps saying they hate autocorrect so... nevermind). I just really want a review. SO PLEASE REVIEW!**

** Anyway, I would like to know if I should continue this or not. You can PM me or review, but I probably won't update until I get an answer. Thank you so very much for reading! REVIEW!**

**Mao**


	2. Spirit of a Test

"Well, this is strange..." Leorio trailed off, staring at the map on the wall.  
"Why?" Gon questioned, standing on his toes to get a better look.  
"Well, according to the notice I received, the exam is supposedly being held somewhere in Zaban city." He pointed to the map. "We're here, and the Cedar tree the captain told you about is in the complete opposite direction of Zaban city."  
He groaned. "This thing isn't even helpful; where in exactly Zaban city are we supposed to go?"

"Maybe you misheard the captain," Kurapika suggested to Gon, who shook his head.

"No, he said to head towards the Cedar tree," He pointed to the said tree's place on the map.

"Perhaps it is another trap... Like they're trying to 'trim the fat'. Is it possible he was trying to trick you?" Riven asked, feeling bare. She had let Karasu go hunting the moment land was in sight, and she didn't know if he had even made it to shore. Well, she assumed he had and was still out, but she couldn't help worrying.

"He wouldn't do that," Gon told her, adjusting the straps on his back pack. Riven wasn't so sure about that; but she wasn't about to tell the boy, since he seemed determined.

"Our task is to find the exam site, with a limited amount of information. I agree with Riven, that this is just another test. However, I believe that we should take the short cut, if that is the case."  
Gon nodded, turning down the left road.  
"I'll go have a look. There must be a reason the captain told me that."

"H-hey," Leorio called.  
"You're serious..." Riven realized with wonder.  
"The bus to Zaban City is about to leave! We should just take it..."

Gon waved his hand in goodbye. Smirking, Kurapika began to follow him.  
"Not you, too..." Leorio sighed.  
"Gon's behavior interests me more than the captain's advice. I'm going with him," the blonde explained. Leorio dropped his shoulders in annoyance.  
"Jeez... It wasn't very long, but it was nice knowing you." Riven, who planned to go with Leorio, waved.

"Farewell." She and Leorio turned right, heading down the road. Not three steps after she had averted her eyes from the young boys, she heard a familiar caw. Whipping around, her face gleamed with joy.  
"Karasu!" She exclaimed, immediately taking off after her bird. He had flown in from who-knows-where and... Well, he landed on Gon's shoulder. He was perched away from her, but Riven knew he had seen her. She felt a pang of hurt.

Why had Karasu decided to land on Gon, when he knew she was going in the opposite direction? She shook her head, hearing Leorio snort.  
"Fine, I'll just go by myself." She could tell he had returned to his journey when she was half way to her white companion.

* * *

Casually, Gon and Kurapika waited up for her. When she had stopped running, they walked at their original pace, Riven doing the same. She clicked her teeth, and held out her arm.  
Obediently, the raven fluttered to her perch. He nuzzled her neck, making her smile fondly.

"What kind of bird is he?" Kurapika asked curiously. "I've never seen anything like him." Riven stroked his white feathers.  
"He's a raven," Gon answered for her, "You can tell from the shape of his beak."  
"But he's white..." Kurapika stated, confused. Riven nodded.  
"Karasu's a Spirit Raven."  
"Spirit Raven?"  
"Well, those are just what the legends call him. He's really white from a genetic defect. Luecism."  
"What are the legends?" Gon asked. Kurapika snapped his fingers in realization.  
"Ah! Now I remember; Spirit Ravens are honored birds in ancient Haida mythology. They were acknowledged for bringing the sun and moon to humanity." Riven laughed.

"Impressive. I only researched that because I had a reason, but you didn't. You must be very ambitious."  
"Hardly, but I do read quite a bit."  
"Well, maybe you can recommend some books for me," Riven suggested. She was surprised at how easily she had opened up to these people; the only person she's ever spoken to like that in the last four years was her miniature friend grooming himself on her arm. She had spent those years in solitude, training for the Hunter Exam. All she had were her books and the bird.

It didn't take long before Leorio had caught up with them.  
"W-well, I thought you'd be lonely without me, so..."

As annoying as other people could be, Riven was glad she wasn't traveling alone.

* * *

Riven wasn't sure how long they group walked before they found themselves in a ghost town. She saw a regular raven sitting atop one of the buildings, and she felt Karasu rustle his feathers in unease. She heard it caw, and immediately felt unsettled. She had grown to recognize certain calls the raven made and, though some seemed exactly the same, a warning call was one she could easily decipher. And that was defiantly a warning call. The raven flew off.

* * *

"Geez. This place is creepy. There isn't a single person here," Leorio noted.  
"No," Gon told him, glancing around, "There are plenty here."  
The group jumped in shock when one of the buildings opened up by the wall. A group of women emerged from the doors, dressed in white robes and masks. The professionally carried a dais and set it down in the path of the four, totally paralyze-with-surprise teens. Riven began to shake with a feeling of fear, but stopped when she saw whacky fur protruding from their masks.

_'It's not them..._'

The women filed in a row behind a large chair, which was occupied by an old woman. One of the women had the raven perched on her arm. Riven realized that they had used the bird to warn them when examinees approached.  
The old women in the front had gapped teeth and gray hair.  
"Exciting..." She croaked.  
"E-exciting...?" Leorio mimicked.  
"Exciting..."  
"Exciting..."  
"What's with the freak show?"  
"Exciting Two-choice Quiz!" The women all but screamed. Riven almost choked in un-belief. 'Freak show' was an understatement. "You four are heading to the tree on the hill top, correct?" Kurapika nodded. "And to reach the tree, you must pass this town. I shall administer a single-question quiz," the lady explained.  
"H-hold on!"  
"You'll have five seconds to state your answer. Answer wrong, and you're disqualified. You'll have to give up on taking the hunter's exam this year." Kurapika closed his eyes.

"I see, then this is part of the Hunter exam."

Riven didn't like the sound of this. She was confident she could answer correctly; she spent hours upon hours simply reading on whatever could possibly come in handy, and Riven never forgot something once she learned; s trick only she could use, since she had a photographic memory.

She eyed the raven on the women's arm. It was slightly bigger than Karasu, but he wasn't full grown. It cawed every time the other women honked a horn, which she only did after the old women spoke.

"You will answer either one or two. Any other answers will be considered incorrect."

"Hold on; so if one of them answers incorrect, I'm disqualified, too?"

"Exactly."

"Damn! I just know you three aren't going to get it!" Leorio cried in despair. Kurapika folded his arms and scoffed.

"What I'm afraid of is the high likelihood of the vice versa happening."  
"What was that?" The two teenagers engaged into a glaring contest. Gon, of course, being the Positive Polly, found the bright side.  
"I actually think it's easier this way, because only one of us has to get it right." He scratched the back of his head like he was embarrassed. "I'm no good at quizzes." Riven smiled at him softly. Truly this boy was something else. She tensed slightly when she heard a footstep that belonged to none of her companions.  
"Hurry it up," the new comer smirked, appearing confident.  
Riven grimaced to herself. She had been so occupied listening to the task at hand; she hadn't noticed this guy until he was close enough to kill her. She should have least been aware of him since he entered the ghost town; besides the women, there wasn't a single soul within miles. Plus, his presence was loud and obnoxious, not faint and cautious.

It appeared as though she would have to step her senses up a notch, if she wanted to be a hunter.

"Who the hell are you?" Leorio asked, unimpressed. Riven would have asked the same thing if nobody else had, albeit in a subtler vocabulary.

"He followed us here, all the way from port," Gon explained, like it was obvious.

Riven's dark blue eyes widened. Gon had noticed him? Was he that good? Or had Riven just messed up that badly? She decided not to worry about it much, since this newcomer was no more powerful than Leorio; scratch that, Leorio had a knife. She just reminded herself to keep her guard up.

"I overheard you're conversation with the old guy," the newcomer shrugged. "Sorry, kid."

"What should we do?" Leorio whispered.  
"Let's let him go first," Gon suggested, "That way, we'll know what to expect." Riven nodded her agreement as the other two voiced it.

"No objections."  
Smirking, the man approached the dais.

"Evil villains have captured your mother and lover. You can only save one. Select one to save you mother, and two to save you lover," the old women recited. "Which will you choose?"

"How is that even a quiz?" Leorio exclaimed. Confidently, the man said,  
"The answer is one."  
"Why would you say that?" The women questioned, her eyes narrowed.  
"That's easy. Because you can't replace your mother, but you can find another lover." The horrified looks the four teenagers were emitting seemed to sink in.  
"What? All you gotta do is say what the old hag wants to hear, it's that simple." Leorio gritted his teeth.

After many torturous seconds, the women closed her eyes.  
"You may pass." The doorway through the pathway slid open, revealing the blocked road. The man entered, and the door slid to a close behind him.  
"That's bull!" Leorio argued. "How is that the right answer? We're supposed to say what the old lady wants to hear? And that's considered correct? I'm not putting up with this sham!" he began to turn around.

"It's too late." He stopped in mid step. "If you turn back now, you'll be disqualified.  
"That's just ridiculous! Different people would expect different answers! There is no right answer!" He exploded, furious.  
"No right answer..." Kurapika muttered. His eyes widened. He turned to the brunette. "Leorio, t-"  
"Wait." The old women interrupted. "Not another word from you. If you attempt to speak again, you will be disqualified." She sat back against her back rest.

"Here is your question. Your son and daughter have been kidnapped. Which do you save? Choose one for your son, and two for your daughter. Which will you rescue?" Leorio clenched his fists. Gon looked confused. Kurapika stayed silent.  
"Five..."  
Well? Which would Riven rescue? If she answered what she wanted to... Well, she wouldn't answer at all.

Riven looked at her feet. The only real bonds she shared with humans were with her sisters. Her sisters... She didn't know where they were, or if they were still alive...

"Four..."

She substituted the daughter and son with her sisters.  
Choose one for Rene, choose two for Senette... She shook her head. That wouldn't help her any; this women had no idea who her sisters were. She unconsciously saw Leorio retrieve a piece of scrap metal and give a few practice swings.

Her daughter or son... She needed to concentrate; if this woman had no access to your personal background or history, this answer would have to do with common sense.

"Three..."

A son would be the best choice. In ancient civilizations, daughters were killed because boys were more desirable. However, if she had to choose what the women wanted to hear, it would be the daughter, hands down.

"Two..."

She thought back to Kurapika; he had figured it out. But how? Leorio had been ranting... But about what?

'Different people would expect different answers! There is no right answer!"

"One..."

Riven snapped her eyes open. She had lost. She hadn't even made it to the actual exam, and she was going home. Four years of training for this... And what's worse, she failed a test of knowledge; one of the only things she was confident in.  
She looked at Gon and Leorio; what would they plan to do?  
Leorio... Leorio! That idiot!

"Time's up."  
The brunette leaped in the air.  
"Take this, you old hag!" Riven yelped.  
"Hold on!" In the corner of her eye, she saw Kurapika leap forward, weapon in hand. Everything seemed to stop. Making shabby calculations...  
Not good. Kurapika wouldn't make it in time. This old Lady would get her head bashed in, and they would all be forbidden from ever taking the exam again.

No way would they leave her unguarded. People would be pissed if they were just disqualified like that. That's what the women were for; to protect, right? If so, why were they waiting? To see what they would do? Was attacking her considered an answer?

'You may only answer one or two. Anything else would be considered incorrect.'

The next thing she knew, the brunette had brought the metal down on Kurapika's weapons, which had situated themselves in his path to the women's head milliseconds before. Riven gasped. How had he moved so quickly? She hadn't even seen him!

"Don't stop me, Kurapika! I won't be satisfied until I've taught this old had a lesson!"

"Calm down, Leorio!" The blonde shouted.  
"How am I supposed to calm down?"  
"You'll waste our correct response."  
"Correct response?" The brunette finally seemed to back off.  
"You were right before. There is no right answer. Therefore, silence is the correct response," the maiden continued to explain. Her eyes were wide in realization.  
"But... That guy from before..."

"He answered wrong." Kurapika replied, slipping his weapons in his messenger bag.

"But they let him go on!" The blonde shook his head.

"That wasn't the correct path."  
"What do you mean?"  
"He means," Riven said, "That they told him he could 'pass'. They didn't say he had the right answer. That path is the wrong one." Kurapika nodded, crossing his arms.

The woman began to cackle, showing off her severely gapped teeth. Riven unconsciously stiffened; it was quite a sight.

"You two are very keen. Yes, that was not the correct passage," she replied, pointing to the side of the building she and her followers had emerged from. "That is."

Leorio blanched. "So what happened to that guy?"

"Him? He was most likely eaten by now." She grinned. "Never the less, you may not pass. Take this path straight up to the tree." The door widened in diameter to reveal a dark, plain path.

"Darn it!" Everyone jumped and looked at Gon in question. He was rubbing his head like he had head-butted cement. "I can't choose! My daughter or my son..."

"Gon," Leorio frowned, "you don't have to answer anymore. There is no correct answer." the boy shook his head.

"Yes, but I wanted to see what I would do if I would come to make that decision." This made Riven smile.

This boy blew her mind away. He was so optimistic and honest. She had only read about people like him in her books at the library.  
Riven and her friends were about to leave once more.

"Just follow this road, and you should reach the tree in two hours. There, you should find a house where a navigator couple lives."  
"Navigator?"  
"They'll lead you to the Hunter Exam site," the women informed them. "Now go; and good luck." She grinned, shooing them off. The four entered the chamber. Just as they were about to take off, Leorio waved at the old women.

"I'm sorry about trying to attack you, grandma."  
"It's quite alright," She showed off her gums. "It isn't very often I come across ambitious kids like you."

And then they were off again.

* * *

Not ten minutes in, Leorio couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"I wonder what I would do if it ever came to that; rescuing your son or your daughter." Kurapika nodded.

"It is a very difficult decision."

"I can't even imagine the right answer. To save them both..." Gon trailed off.  
"I could..." All three boys blinked, leaning in to hear what Riven had to say.

"What would you do?" Leorio asked, confused.

She shrugged. "Just don't have any children."  
No one could tell if she was joking or not. Leorio attempted to change the subject.  
"Say, Riven," He looked at said girl. "Is your pal there a pigeon?" He held his arms in defense when Kurapika and Riven gave him exasperated expressions. "Hey, hey! Sorry, I'm not a bird doctor!"

"An Ornithologist," The girl corrected, her face brightening up. The others seemed to notice her attitude change that occurred whenever the subject of her bird came up.  
"Yeah. That." Leorio rubbed the back of his head. Riven was about to tell him that she had already told him Karasu was a Raven, obviously, but she held her tongue. Leorio hadn't been a part of her earlier conversation.  
"Karasu is a raven," She finally told Him. He scrunched his face in confusion.

"How can a raven be white!?" He extended his arm to stroke the bird, just as he had seen Riven do. When he was an inch in proximity, the bird snapped at him half-heartedly. Riven giggled while the others joined her, save for Leorio. He growled at the thing that almost took his finger.

"She's not albino, is she?" Riven shook her head.

"_He's_ Leucistic, meaning he lacked most pigmentation at birth."  
"Yeah... Albino..." Leorio crossed his arms. Gon giggled like a boy.

"Didn't you say you wanted to be a doctor, Leorio?" The optimistic boy bounced up the hill on the balls of his feet. The brunette sulked.

"So you said you were looking for your sisters..." The blonde called Kurapika continued. "How were you separated?" The girl watched her feet.  
"It was about five years ago..."  
Riven turned away. "Well, my mother died, and I couldn't care for them. But I was too old to... Be adopted, I guess. I lost track of the family that... Took them in." Kurapika gave her an odd look, one that held sympathy, confusion, and a little hint of doubt.  
"You were too old to be adopted?" Riven blushed a little under his intense eyes.

"W-well, the family that wanted us... Only wanted kids under ten... And I was eleven, s-so they only adopted Senette and Rene..." The boy nodded, falling silent.

Of course, that wasn't the whole truth.

* * *

**Flashback (POV: Riven)**

Riven's homeland was always gray; the clouds were gray, the water was gray, and the people were gray. Her village technically didn't have a specific name, but natives from surrounding acres referred to it as 'The Dark Place'. The people from other places just called it port.

The buildings were crafted from stone, and the windows seemed to be made from obsidian. The only wild life were rats, an occasional spider, crows, and ravens. Even the moon was gray, partially hidden by clouds.

At one time, The Dark Place was not such a bad place to live, despite its lack of color. People could get plenty of business down by the docks because it used to be a very popular harbor. There were plenty of fish on the sea, and plenty of game and merchandise on land.

For several reasons, probably the main one being overpopulation and inevitability, things went downhill for the city.  
An epidemic broke out, something locals referred to as Witch's Fever. It claimed so many lives that it scared off all of the tourists. Only the brave dared go there. Eventually, the whole town was forbidden to leave, or escape. The other villages feared the Fever would spread.

It seemed everyone who lived in the Dark Place was in poverty forever. Riven couldn't even remember anything but gray. When her mother caught the fever, she was dead within days. Riven remembered holding her hand as she shivered and whispered her father's name over and over; he had been killed at sea in an accident before the fever broke out. Her hand was cold for three days before someone thought to check on them.

Finding orphans wasn't surprising anymore, so Riven, Senette, and Rene were sent to the crowded orphanage without a second thought. There was no 'let's try to find the rest of your relatives'. Just 'Off you go'.

Riven was ten, Senette was seven, and Rene was four, so they were all separated for most of the day. However, they remained in the same orphanage, so they saw each other every day. The first thing Riven thought of all the children there was 'gray'. They were all as dark and gloomy as the sky. The second thought she had was, 'There are so many."

No one really became friends at the orphanage, but they all had a bond; fight the grown-ups. Every week, it seemed, this eerie group of six or seven women knocked at the wooden door. Riven never got a very good look at them from behind filthy windows, but she could tell they were gorgeous. They all seemed to have the same willowy figure, with dainty hands. However, their faces were never revealed; nor were their hair. Each one wore the exact same simple, white dress with a low v-neck, which was somehow modest. Over their shoulders, they had a shawl of the same color draped around their heads.  
Every visit, the women running the orphanage, Diana, handed over four children. They never went willingly, but Riven knew that that was because they just wished to be stubborn. She saw no reason not to follow the beautiful angels, never to return to this creaky, run-down place ever again.

After two visits, Riven saw the pattern of children who were taken. It wasn't difficult, or even complicated. It wasn't by age, or gender, but by the length of time you had stayed at the orphanage.  
Riven calculated that if she and her sisters were ever to be taken, it wouldn't be for another two years. There were so many children.

Riven really didn't feel any specific emotion, until she saw her first transfer. She felt panic. The orphanage the three sisters lived in only accepted kids ages ten and under. Riven would be turning eleven soon, and that meant she would be separated from Senette and Rene. The first person she saw transfer orphanages was a girl with sandy blonde hair. Riven never saw her again, but she heard she went to another orphanage and was killed by disease.

She tried to stop worrying about it, and focused on enjoying the small amount of time she had with her sisters. They never seemed to comprehend their mother was dead, so it was up to Riven to reassure them. Sometimes she felt like the world was on her shoulders, and other times she wished she could just scream and cry.

But she then had bigger problems to worry about.

* * *

When Diana caught the Witch's Fever, nobody cried. She hadn't been mean, or unkind, but she never loved any of them. Riven had heard that she lost all of her children in miscarriages.

She felt a little bad for her; none of the children comforted her in her delirious states. None saved food for her after they made supper for themselves.  
She was dead in two days.

Not a single child, not even the young ones, cried. All of the infants died within a day of the loss, since no one could properly care for them.

Riven, instead of following her usual schedule of cores, spent the day with her sisters. She hoped that the new caretaker would never come.

* * *

It was three days after the death that the women in white came. In the dead of night, they woke every child up, forced them to scurry outside, and instructed them to follow them.

Riven was too groggy to remember everything vividly, but she remembered holding her sister's hands and stumbling to continue on. They were the only ones on the streets. Just two hundred kids and seven women in white dresses that reflected the moon. They were carrying long torches, each one positioned evenly around the herded children. The torches had long, beaded wires connecting them.

Several children tried to run away and escape. The moment they crossed the wire, even if they never touched it, they cried and jumped back. Later, Riven figured the wires had an electrical charge. Where the energy was coming from, she had no clue.

After the shocks, children began to feel afraid. They left town. The barricades that restricted any from escaping the village were open, and they left it in their dust.

* * *

**A/N: WOW! THREE REVIEWS? YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!**

**PrincessWindNight: Oh my goodness, thank you! I hope I never put this on Hiatus, because I'm going to continue with it! **

* * *

**Nispedana: Thank you! This chapter is a little shorter, but I think that's okay...**

**Anyway, I forgot to mention last time; all of the heritage and history of Spirit Ravens is true. The Haida is a Native American tribe in Alaska. Also, there are about three white ravens held in captivity in Canada. Leucism really is a birth defect, found in other animals as well. There are snakes and bears, to name a few.**

** Riven's strengths involve her brains; she's not much of a fighter, I'm afraid, but she trained for four years in a forest. I think I've mentioned that... anyway, she basically learned how to survive off of nothing. She also has somewhat of a good memory, but it's not really photographic. She reads A LOT of books, so there will be A LOT of references (to the fake books, that she's supposedly read). She's really good and accurate with physics, though, so that helps her fight a little.**

**And as for the scene changes last chapter, I'd meant to edit it after I uploaded it on Doc Manager, but I guess I was so excited that I forgot! Sorry! Thanks again for reading!**

* * *

**Payne: Thank you for the support! I totally think pasta tastes better than fighting!**

* * *

**And to my new readers; Review! See you next time!**

**Mao**


	3. Spirit of a Meadow

"What's taking so long? Didn't granny say the house was only two hours away?" Leorio glanced at his watch, seething. "Two hours was two hours ago!" He swore, stopping in front of a wooden picket fence. "Not another "Beware of Magical Beasts" sign!" Riven thought the man was going to tear his hair out for sure.

However, he was right. They should have reached the tree ages ago. Night had already fallen, and all four of them, even Gon, had begun to grow irritated. Karasu would not sit still on her shoulder.  
Leorio had fallen slightly behind the other three, since he stopped so often for his complaining. He was about to break, Riven deducted, when Kurapika smiled, relieved.

"I see it!" The blonde pointed through the thick foliage of the forest. Sure enough, at the base of the giant cider tree they had been in pursuit of was a log cabin.

Riven felt a shiver run down her spine. The windows were blacked out, and there wasn't a peep of any sound that would indicate inhabitation.

Gon was the first to bound up the cottage's porch and knock on the door.  
"Is anyone home?" Leorio came up behind them, twisting to door knob and pushing forward. "We're coming in."

The ever surprised teenagers grew tense in defensive stances at the sight.

A magical beast with reddish-brown fur clutched a woman in his claws. He had a long, narrow snout, much like a fox, and strong, powerful hind legs. Besides his hunched back, he appeared to walk like a human; this gave Riven the impression of a kangaroo. He also had long years, and a thin stretch of skin between his arm and torso; wings. Karasu squeaked in warning.

"It's a Kiriko!" Riven realized. She remembered reading a book on magical beasts found in deciduous forests.  
"What's that?" Leorio questioned.  
"It's a magical beast that can take human form. It's highly intelligent."  
Gon gasped.  
"It has a woman in its arms!" Leorio gritted his teeth, motioning to another figure, whom was huddled on the ground.  
"And that man need medical attention," he added.

"Kekeke," the beast chuckled, his slanted eyes glowing red. In an instant, he used his muscle-rippled back legs to shoot out the window and take to the air. Gon dashed after it, propelling himself out the window as well.

"Leorio, Riven; stay here and take care of the man!" Kurapika ordered, leaping out of the window as well.  
"Got it." Riven whistled lowly, rushing to the man's side with Leorio.  
In response, her white bird took out through the window after the blonde.

"What's Karasu doing?" Leorio asked, attentively rolling the man on his back. His shoulder and chest were soaked in blood, but Riven laid his head in her lap anyway.

"He is to return immediately. If Kurapika or Gon is injured, then he will caw once. If they are fine and don't need our assistance, then he will caw twice. If something unexpected happened, he will caw three times." The girl explained as she watched the man in the suit wrap the injured husband in bandages.  
"That's a good plan," Leorio praised. The man groaned.

"Please, please... S-save my wife." A few tears were shed, and he began to shake, but Leorio wasn't deterred.  
"Don't worry," he assured him. "My friends will save her."

"They're very strong and resourceful," Riven added.

After Leorio gave the man a dosage of pain killers he had stashed away in his briefcase, Riven stood guard out front, with the door open. She opened her mind, ready for an unexpected attack.

She visibly tensed when she felt an object speeding their way, but a flutter of wings that was heard as it grew closer told her it was her Spirit friend. She turned on her heel and approached the open window, her arm stretched out in a perch. Leorio appeared from behind her to watch as the raven landed.  
He cawed three times.

"Something unexpected happened?" the brunette man inquired. Riven, still tense, whipped around and held an offensive stance. Karasu fluttered off of her arm and onto Leorio's head. The brunette swatted at him, only to get pecked in the eye.

The man, who was supposedly injured, was rising to his feet.  
"I can explain that..." He grinned.

* * *

"Can you tell the difference between their face and voices?" Leorio whispered to Kurapika and Riven. Both shook their heads, flabbergasted. Who could?  
Oh, yeah. Gon.

The four, who were reunited, were standing right outside of the cabin. In front of them were the man, the women, and the TWO large Kiriko.  
"Allow us to explain," the first one said. "We are a family of navigators. I'm the Husband."  
"I'm the wife," the second Kiriko chimed.  
"I'm the son," the man grinned.  
"And I'm the daughter," the women finished. The daughter turned to look at them each in the eye and said,  
"The exam site for the Hunter Exam changes every year, so it's very difficult to find. We are hired to lead participants there. However, we don't take just anyone, so we test them to see if they're qualified." Ah. Riven realized that they were also hired to 'trim the fat'.  
The women looked specifically at the blonde."Kurapika, you successfully used the most vague of hints to determine that we were not spouses." She pointed to her wrist, which was covered in tattoos. "You saw that these tattoos in this particular region mean you're forever unwed." She wiped her hand across her skin, and the ink smeared.  
"This tells me you are very knowledgeable. Therefore, you pass."

The blonde sighed in relief.  
"Way to go, Kurapika!" Gon congratulated. The man, or the son, looked at Leorio.  
"Leorio, although you didn't notice that my injuries were not real and that this was a test, you still fixed my up better and faster than any doctor. Also, you continually comforted me about my wife. This told me you are kind and warm-hearted. For this, you pass." Or of the corner of her eye, Riven saw Leorio stand up straighter. She smiled gladly at him. The man then turned to her.

"Riven, your control over your bird is absolute and convenient. Your method of using him as communication between you and your friends' shows me you are good with teamwork. Also, you stood guard even when it seemed pointless. You are well prepared and cautious, thus, you also pass."

Riven sucked in a breath of air, unaware she had been holding it in. She received a pat on the back from Leorio, an impressed grin from Kurapika, and a 'way to go' from Gon. Karasu also sensed a happy air, so he squawked in delight.

The father Kiriko looked at Gon.  
"Lastly, Gon; you're physical abilities and powers of observation make you worthy for the Hunter exam. You pass! Congratulations!" Needless to say, everyone was ecstatic.

Riven felt an overwhelming sense of anticipation and worry that held off most feelings of accomplishment. True, she had passed, but this wasn't even the first phase of the Hunter exam. It was simple preliminaries that told her she could 'try' to take the real thing.

She looked at Gon. He had physical strength and ability far beyond that of a normal man. Kurapika was observant, smart, and quick to answer. Leorio was mentally determined, and she knew nothing could stop him.

What did she have? True, she could calculate distances and momentum quickly in her head, but even that was failing her. Kurapika had moved so fast to stop Leorio earlier that day, when he had been attacking the old women... Her calculations had been way off.

And what use was her 'communication' system she used Karasu for, when none of the other could understand the bird's meanings?  
What would she do if she needed _their_ help?

Other than a few defensive and offensive maneuvers she read about in a book, she had very little fighting abilities, though she predicted her skills were above average. She hadn't even been able to test out her moves since she never had a practice partner. She had a knife hidden in her boot, thankfully, but she didn't know if she would ever need to use it or not her stamina was fine, but it was nothing to be proud of.

Other than information from her past readings, her nature surviving skills, her bird, and her knife, she had nothing.

Still, as the Kiriko carried her, Leorio, Gon, and Kurapika through the night sky, she let herself feel hope.

She let herself think she could do anything.

* * *

_**Flashback (POV: Riven)  
**_

"Rivvy," The little girl whined. "My feet are sore. How much longer?" Riven glanced down at her little sister, her panic hopefully suppressed in a mask of calm.

"It shouldn't be too long now, Senette." She released her grip on her hand for a moment to ruffle Senette's short, pixie-cut mane. If she hadn't she probably would have clenched her fist too tightly.

After a second and a deep breath, she slipped her spindly ten-year-old fingers back in place.

All three of them; Riven, Senette, and Rene, had sharp features, made so by years of hunger. Rene, who was now too tired to walk, was being carried piggy-back style by her oldest sister. She used to be a chubby child, but not anymore. Now she was fast asleep; she was only four.

Riven glanced around; she certainly hoped they didn't have to go too far. It was becoming humid, and the air was thick, despite being so early in the morning. She was completely surrounded by sweating, confused children who barely had the will to stay awake. She stretched her gaze over the heads of children to see one of the seven willowy women, whom was marching slowly with a torch still in her hands. She had a long stride, still like all of the others, so the children they herded like animals struggled to stay away from the edges.

When she had first laid eyes on the Angels, as she called them in her head, she had thought they would take her away from suffering, like with the four children every week. But now, she felt a burning hate for them. She was tired, thirsty, and sore, but they forced her ahead. She couldn't see their faces, or who they were, and she felt like they couldn't see her. Now they lead them through tall grasses and even a river a while back. Riven could hardly recall the last time they trekked on even ground.

One girl, who Riven only really remembered through the confusion and panic from her bright orange hair, tripped and collapsed. She was near the back.

The Angels didn't stop marching, and she failed to rise to her feet. The last Angel stepped over her, completely oblivious.  
She shrieked and thrashed. Riven actually could see now what happened when you crossed the wire; you were electrocuted. She could make out sparks traveling violently through the girl's body in flashing currents.  
Riven removed her hand from Senette's grip to cover her ear, pressing the side of her head against her thigh to close the other one. This also kept her head in place so she couldn't turn around. Thankfully Rene was a heavy sleeper.

Riven watched, sick to her stomach, as the girl convulsed on the ground. The wire passed over her completely, and she was no longer in the circle. Riven thought that more children would try to escape now; now they knew it was possible.

But looking behind her one last time, she saw why they didn't. The girl never got up. She stayed still.

Three kids vomited from the smell.

* * *

It wasn't until the sun rose slightly above the horizon that they reached their definition.

Riven felt Rene stir in her slumber as she gasped, her eyes reflecting the scene before her.

The gray prairie grass had transformed by the light into golden wheat, swaying gently in the wind. The sun was every color in the rainbow, including gold and the orange color of the girl's hair.  
The torturous hills that were so difficult to climb continued on, but now they added texture. The sun's first rays made the gray go away; the only color Riven had ever known. Was this what the world was supposed to look like? All the feelings of dread and distrust left her behind, headed back to the Dark Place. She wasn't the only one who had forgiven the Angels; two kids ran up and hugged one of them. She was forced to stop marching, but she didn't shake them off.

And she didn't hug them back.

* * *

Off in the distance, Riven laughed at what she saw. _More _Angels were coming. There were thirty-three more, she knew. Forty Angels. They carried ropes and wooden boards in their hands.  
Their faces, like all of the others, were hidden behind plain masks with simple slits for eyes. Finally able to move, the seven escort Angels marched to meet their sisters.

For a second, they were on flat ground. The women forcefully shoved their scepters deep into the soft earth before they continued walking. The children had to stop.

Almost everyone collapsed to their knees, thankful for rest. The ground was warm and dry, fortunately. Riven twirled some of the wheat in her hand; it was brittle, and dead. Slowly, almost ceremoniously, the women regrouped. They stood like statues until one of them purposely dropped her pile of wood to the ground. It rolled a few inches as more were dropped next to it.

Riven watched as more and more wood was added to the ever-growing pile. By mid morning, it was as big as a house. They hadn't been carrying that much wood, had they?  
Curious, Riven followed a chosen Angel with her eye. She returned to the back of the line (the one the women had formed), but the very second she past behind another angel, the very second she was no longer visible; she reappeared with more wood in hand.

So the extra walking and meeting each other half way had been for a ceremony.  
Senette had fallen asleep, so Riven laid her on the ground next to Rene. The dead, golden wheat made a wonderful pillow. Riven tried to sleep as well, but she just couldn't; there was a rock in the pit of her stomach.  
She didn't realize what it was until she saw what the women were building.

A fire pit. Were they blind? Even if they were to build a trench around the fire, the pile was too high. It would just jump it. Or a flaming piece of ash would be blown to the highly flammable wheat.

The dead, dry, flammable wheat.

With bile rising to her throat, Riven knew now; they were making a fire, and they wanted it to spread.

But why? Who were these women? Not Angels, that was for sure. But...

_'for several reasons, probably the main one being overpopulation and inevitability, things went downhill for the city.'_

Riven choked; overpopulation. She whipped her head around, witnessing everything in a new light. The children weren't from an orphanage; they were from a pound. When you turned eleven, they gave you to the real orphanage, she realized. Because by then it would be obvious you were going to survive.

Maybe she was paranoid; she had heard that the blonde haired girl who had transferred died.

'She died unexpectedly, then. She caught the disease after she transferred,' Riven snapped in her head. Her legs began to shake.

Every week, when the four children were taken away... They... They were...

They were _killed_. They _killed_ them to prevent _overpopulation_.

Riven's whole body shook uncontrollably now.

'And they have everyone from the orphanage now, because...' Riven couldn't think straight. Her thoughts were incomplete, but she still managed to place things together.

"Oh, God!" She gasped aloud.

Diana, the women who was taking care of them, had died.

_"They're going to burn all of us alive."_

* * *

Riven couldn't remember when she had been in a crowed area last. Well, one that wasn't doomed.

She looked at everything and everyone in awe.

Who could blame her? The city of Zaban was over flowing with people of all races trying to sells all things. The stands were placed on either side of the road, their owners shouting at no one in particular.

"You haven't lived if you haven't tried Blue Devion fish," one merchant claimed. Riven frowned; she hadn't even heard of such a breed of fish, and she was obviously alive. Was this man crazy? She was glad she had commanded Karasu to trail from a distance, or she would have had to restrain him.

She and Gon had been captivated with a sock stand, then a dumplings stand, then a stand that sold purses. The two almost got left behind, but Kurapika, Leorio, and the navigator had slowed their pace. Gon pulled at her hand when he noticed they were slowing the others down, but she wouldn't budge.

"Where did you find that?" She questioned the owner of another jewelry stand. Her voice cracked. Her eyes were clouded and her expression was distant.

"Oh, that?" The women draped in a pink turban pursed her lips. She held the object up; a necklace with a silver chain, and a deep blue topaz in the center of a hexagonal frame. The frame branched out onto the gem like vines, and there were several leaves in place to clarify the design. "That's just a trinket, but it's modeled after a famous necklace that belonged to a queen from a distant land. No one really knows what happened to it; it's probably at the bottom of the sea by now."

"The sea? What do you mean?" Riven inquired, a little more enthusiastically than she intended.  
"Well," the woman began, folding her wrinkled hands. "According to the myths, it was stolen by famous pirates, whose ship crashed one day in a storm." She leaned forward, grinning at Riven's eagerness.

"I'll tell you more about the pirates if you give me a hundred jenny." Riven didn't know if she would have coughed the doe up, but a gentle hand nestled on her shoulder.

"No deal, miss. Sorry," Kurapika said politely, pulling Riven along. The women chuckled in a rasping voice.

"The young men are so handsome these days," she sighed dreamily. Riven clenched her fists in order to keep them from shaking.

A blue topaz with vines reaching for the center. A ship accident. These sparked memories from her past.

But she pushed them back; right now, she was focusing on the Hunter Exam.  
For the rest of the way to the exam site, the girl faced forward and drowned everything out.

It wasn't very subtle, apparently, since everyone noticed.  
"Is something wrong, Riven?" Gon asked worriedly. She smiled and shook her head.

"I'm just not use to such big crowds," she explained. It was true.

Riven tried her best to keep interested in her companion's conversations, especially when they stopped directly in front of a skyscraper.

"So this is where hundreds of applicants gather every year," Leorio murmured.

"The Hunter exam site," breathed Kurapika. Riven tensed.

They were here. Her neck hurt from craning it to see it, but the top of the building was visible.  
"There must be at least fifty floors..." She trailed off.

"Actually..." the navigator chuckled, "this is the exam site." All four heads were turned to see a one story high shack. The windows were dirty, the door was crooked, and first was plastered on the walls, but it was obviously a restaurant.

Riven couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. After accusations of lying and shouts of disbelief, the four began to follow the man trough the entrance. Pausing, Riven turned and gave a low whistle, propping her arm out.

Instantly, a flash of white plummeted to her. Karasu extended his wings at the last few moments to slow before he perched on her wrist.

Riven couldn't imagine the restaurant would allow a pet bird, so she tucked him under her blouse, like on the ship. She reminded herself to give him a dosage of sleeping drugs the next moment she had the chance.

She and her new friends entered grimly. The man behind the counter gave them death glares so soulful; Riven swore he was a famous actor.  
"Hello, is the back room open?" the navigator smiled  
"What would you like?" The man asked gruffly.  
"A steak combo that will open your eyes for four, please." The chef's eyes widened a fraction, before narrowing.  
"And how would you like done?"

"Oh, are we going to eat first?" Gon whispered. "I don't know who's going to pay, but..."

"On a low flame, until cooked," requested the navigator. Riven blinked. Was that code? If so, it was very... Strange. What if someone really wanted to eat a steak combo, which was cooked on a low flame, in the back room? It wasn't impossible.

The man led all five of them into 'the back room'. It was a fancy waiting area, compared to the dumped it was connected to.  
"Wait here," the navigator told them.  
"What do you mean? Where are the others?"

"I can't wait for the steak combo!" Gon liked his lips. Kurapika gave an exasperated sigh.

"That was just code talk so they'd let us in, Gon."

"Oh, so we don't get to eat?" He pouted, discouraged.

"One in ten thousand," The navigator spoke suddenly.  
"What?"  
"That's your chances of making it this far. You've done very well; good luck!" Their navigator was just about to close the door, when Gon stuck out his hand.

"Thank you!" Surprised, he took it and gave a firm shake.

"I'll show you the way next time, too," he promised. Then he was gone. In a jerk, the room began to shake.

"What the-!?"

"It's an elevator," Riven clarified, pulling up one of the chair for the table in the center of the room. She slipped her hand in her small carrying bag, removing a vial. She popped it open and dumped about two ounces of gray powder into her palm; twice as much as last time.

Then she lifted her arm and released Karasu.

"So," The others took their seats as well. "Didn't you think that guy was being a jerk? He acted like he didn't think we were going to pass!" Leorio scowled.

Riven also took out a tiny water bottle, adding a tad to her drugs. The remedy made a pool of liquid silver, and she urged her raven to lick it up. He did, since that drug more often than not heightened his senses by seven percent when he awoke. He never recalled being put to sleep.

"Three in a million..." Kurapika murmured.

"What's that?" Riven asked.

"The chances of a rookie passing." The blonde gave serious gazes to each member of the table.  
"That low!" The brunette gasped. Gon was also wide eyed.

Riven held her breath as she tucked Karasu in her shirt again. He was out like a stone.

Why had she put him to sleep? Because she wished to hide him from other applicants. He very well could end up a trump card, and she wanted him to be as protected as possible.

Riven tried to listen as her blonde companion explained how difficult the exam really was, but her blood kept rushing to her ears and drowning him out.

She tried to make a mental list.

'I have stamina, survival skills, weapons..." She wiggled her foot, and then sighed. 'Weapons, wit, and mental stability.'

She smiled slightly as Kurapika and Leorio argued. She had no idea what they were saying to each other, but they sure looked like family. Gon grinned and shook his head fondly, and she couldn't help but do the same.

'With these three...' she remembered how Gon had sprung off of the boat to save her, how Leorio had wrapped that injured man in bandages, and how Kurapika had guided her away from the merchant women.

'With these three, there's no way I won't become a Hunter!'

* * *

**An/ SEVEN REVIEWS! SEVEN! YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!**

**Sorry, last chapter I said in my AN that Riven really didn't have a photographic memory, but in the story I said she did. I forgot that I had changed it. Her memory is photographic.**

** PrincessWindNight: Thank you so much for reviewing again! It made me feel good on the inside :D**

** DifferentKindOfAsian: Thank you for the help and such for the future. I did some serious thinking, and I now know what Riven's nen abilities are. I loved you review!**

** Payne: WOW! Two reviews from you! Thanks so much!**

** yumum: O.o Your intuition is amazing. Your words really lifted my spirits! Thank you soooo much!**

**Well, REVIEW!**

** Mao**


	4. Spirit of a Shock

The elevator opened with a binge.

Gon just laughed, relieved of Kurapika's and Leorio's hard stares, and bounded out the door.

The underground cave was dim lighted, with an eerie feel to it. The ground and walls were hard stone, gray like the place Riven grew up in. There was a fairly large group of people there, each and everyone seemingly glaring at them with calculating eyes. Her breath hitched, but she forced it out in a steady stream.

So many people... Of course, there had been plenty more in the streets, but none of them paid much attention to her. She casually crossed her arms, feeling for Karasu's heartbeat.

It was fast and light, but comforting. Riven followed Leorio, Kurapika, and Gon further into the room.

The group was halted in their tracks by a small, green man in some sort of suit. His rosy cheeks were etched in a permanent grin.

"Please put these on, and keep them through-out the whole Hunter Examination!" He instructed, handing each of them white, circular plates. It fit in the palm of Riven's hand.

The number on hers read 406. She peered over at Kurapika to see what he did with his; number 404. He pinned is on his chest, so she copied. Leorio had tag 403, and Gon had tag 405.  
She noticed the tiny man glide away, vanishing.  
The next thing Riven noticed was the lack of females. Doing a quick scan, only one other woman was definite (there were a few 'not-sure's'). This woman made her feel a little... Inferior. Her body was fully developed, and she wore a pink sweater with pink sweat pants that hugged her curves. She had a mushroom-like hat that added a dash of cuteness, and her eyes were large. Besides the suspicious glare she, along with others, was sending her, she seemed like a very sociable person.

Riven only had combat boots (which cost nearly her whole life savings~ well, that's what it seemed like, at least), navy blue pants, her pouch, a black tank-top, and a jacket. Her tank-top was long, about to the point where it nearly had a tail; it could have passed for a short dress. She had it under a belt to keep it out of her way, and the jacket cut off just before her waist.

Yes, compared to this woman, she was dressed like a boy. Her chest was still flat. Her arms, legs, and neck were far too lanky. She had absolutely no excess fat and her features were pointed and sharp from hunger. The woman's were round and soft, like they should be.

Not to mention the lack of pigmentation in Riven's skin, which made her almost as white as Karasu. There was, after all, a gray sun in The Dark Place; she was extremely fortunate her complexion was not one of ash. That, combined with her long blue-black hair, gave her an impression of death.

Riven had never really been self-conscious, but she also never really spent this much time around other people. She couldn't recall the last time she had seen her reflection; really scrutinized it.

"Um, excuse me..." Go started, but immediately froze. Rudely, every single applicant turned away.  
Riven sighed, putting all of those thoughts away as a short, pudgy man appeared from the crowd.

He had a squarish face and nose, with bushy eye brows and broad shoulders. His skin was well tanned, and his hair cropped close to his scalp. He smiled sympathetically at the four.

"You're rookies, eh?" Riven tensed.

"How'd you know?" Gon exclaimed, as trusting as ever. The newcomer chuckled, his hands on his pot belly, with a friendly smile.

"Well, you see, I'm sort of a veteran. This is my thirty fifth year here." The four gasped.

"Really?"

"No way!" The man seemed to bask in his pride. Riven blinked and leaned towards her blonde friend.  
"That doesn't really seem like something to brag about," she whispered.

"Indeed," Kurapika sweat-dropped. The man, oblivious to the words that were exchanged, stuck his hand out.  
"I'm Tonpa. I'm number sixteen this year." Sure enough that was what his tag read; 16. Riven warily tucked this in her brain, thinking 'don't trust anyone.' Thank goodness Gon was the only one who shook Tonpa's burly hand.

"I'm Gon," the boy replied. "This is Leorio, Kurapika, and Riven."  
"Yo."  
"Nice to meet you."  
"Hello," the three greeted simultaneously. The man chuckled.

"Say, are there any others who are like you?" the ever-curious boy continued. Tonpa leaned forward and lowered his voice slightly.

"Well, I have the most experience, but there are a few..." He directed his finger at a tall, wide-built man with medium blonde hair pulled back into a pony. He seemed to be casually eating. "That's number 255; Todo the wrestler. He's unmatched in strength, and he's smarter than he looks." His eyes scanned the crowd. "That's Bourbon the snake charmer; number 103. He tends to hold grudges, so don't get on his bad side."

He continued on to introduce to 191, Bodoro the martial artist, 197, 198, and 199, the Amori brothers, and 384 Gerreta the Huntsmen. Riven didn't doubt that this information was true, even though this Tonpa guy was a sketchy character; these fellows appeared more confident than others.

Suddenly, an ear-piercing scream ripped through the air. Riven whipped around in a defensive stance, her eyes and ears fully alert.

A man, on his knees in horror, watched helplessly as his arms disintegrated before his very eyes. His eyes were wide and his voice grew hoarse, until he collapsed in a heap of despair on the ground.

"Oh, how peculiar." Riven's breath hitched at the voice. It sounded so bemused, so... Frightening. It was sadistic and beautiful at the same time.

"His arms seem to have turned to flower petals. No smoke or mirrors here," The voice assured. "Do be careful. When you bump into someone, you really should apologize to them."

Her eyes found the speaker; he was a man with slicked back red hair. His skin was whiter than her own. Actually, it was so white and flawless she was sure he was covered in make-up. He had, underneath one eye, a pink star, and underneath the other, a teal-blue tear drop. He wore a cut-off shirt with the symbol of the four suits of cards, as well as a black under shirt, white pants, and curled-toe shoes. He had his back to her, but she could tell... He was handsome. But he was, more than such, creepy.

Worse than that; bone-chillingly, heart-stoppingly petrifying. Riven feared He would turn around, possibly see her somehow and look at her.  
Almost as if he was on cue, he tilted his head slightly until his profile was visible.  
However, he wasn't looking at her, she realized after a moment. He was looking at Gon.

Riven didn't like that; she had only known the boy for a short time, but he had saved her life and helped her get this far.  
Without thinking, she took a few steps forward and turned around, making a circle with her friends (and Tonpa). This way, she was in his line of vision to the boy. So long as she didn't have to look him in the eye, she could take this.

Hopefully it had seemed like she hadn't blocked his view on purpose, and was simply conversing. She felt his tremendous gaze on her back. Gon glanced up at her in confusion but didn't speak, but Leorio and Kurapika seemed to know how she felt. They gave her wary looks.  
After an eternity, Riven felt the pressure leave. She turned to peek at the clown.  
He had turned away and nonchalantly stood in the crowd.

"That psycho path is here again..." Tonpa muttered. Kurapika and Leorio jumped.

"Again?!" Gon voiced.

"Does that mean he failed last year?" Kurapika pondered, skeptical.

"Hisoka the Magician; he was a virtual to pass, until he all but killed an examiner he didn't like."

"Eh?! And they're letting him take the exam again?" Leorio exclaimed, flabbergasted.

Riven sighed."The Examiners and test content change every year. They can pass anyone they see fit; but I'm sure if he killed too many Examiners..." She trailed off.

"No," Tonpa shook his head grimly. "If they saw it fit, they could pass the devil himself. Anyway," he glanced back at Hisoka warily. "Nobody likes him, so I would stay as far away as possible." The four nodded in grim agreement.

"He certainly looks dangerous," the man in the suit murmured.  
"Oh, right!" Tonpa recalled, digging in his bag. The four were snapped out of their thoughts. "This is a gift to mark our acquaintance. How about it?" The burly man removed an orange cylinder. Riven blinked, leaning over to whisper in Kurapika's ear.

"What is that?" The blonde gave her an odd look before taking one of the four cans Tonpa held out.

"It's soda; a beverage."  
"You drink this?!" She gasped, taking a can of her own. The Dark Place didn't have anything like this; it was much too colorful. She rolled it over in her hand. Obviously you had to open the can, but she didn't see a hole anywhere. She jumped when Kurapika, almost laughing, pried the can from her hand, flipped it right-side up (she was holding it upside-down), and grip a metal ring. He then proceeded to bend it up, and the can fizzed opened.

She took it and examined it. Sniffing the context, she scrunched her nose.

"This stuff seems odd," she whispered, so Tonpa would not hear. Then her brain seemed to click in understanding.

Why would Tonpa bring these? He didn't have to give gifts to make friends, nor did he bring over four-hundred.  
He knew they were rookies without even asking, and it looked as though he never even attempted to try and converse with the others.

'Don't trust anyone'. Gon took a large mouthful before she could warn him. Instantly, he spat it out.

"Yuck! Tonpa-san, I think your juice must have gone bad," He exclaimed sheepishly. Riven leapt back as Leorio spewed out a steady stream of orange. She hadn't even seen him take the drink.

"Seriously!?" he cried, eyeing the can. Promptly, Kurapika poured his can on the ground, and Riven copied.

"That's strange..." Tonpa stuttered. He fell to a bow. "I'm very sorry! I didn't know the juice exspired!"

"That's okay, you don't have to apologize!" Gon said cheerily. "Is your stomach okay?"

"Y-yes, I'm fine..."

"I've sampled all kinds of mountain grasses and plants, so I can usually tell if something is bad," he explained modestly.

"R-really? That's amazing!" The man fidgeted. "Well, sorry again, about that." He stood. "I'll see you around." And with that, he disappeared in the crowd.

"What a talkative old man!" Leorio mused. Riven nodded, wondering what to do with her now empty can. She slipped it in her pouch; it was now as full as possible, but she knew she couldn't just throw it on the ground. That would be rude.

Just then, an silence-shattering cry raked through the air; this one different than before.

Following her ears, Riven directed her gaze to one of the walls. After the shrieking ceased, the wall trembled. Suddenly, it began to rise with a mechanical whirring, revealing a tall man in a tuxedo. His pink hair flipped out at the ends, and his eyes were droopy, but alert. He had a brown mustache, and... No mouth? Could he talk?

Behind him was a stretch of dark tunnel, as if it were endless.

"I apologize for the wait. The entry period for Hunter applicants has ended." Apparently, he could speak quite well.

"The Hunter Exam will now begin!" Riven held her breath. "A final caution: if you are short on luck or ability, you could be seriously injured or even killed. Those who accept those risks, please follow me. If not, please exit via the elevator behind you."

No one moved an inch.

"Very well," the man, who Riven assumed was the examiner, continued. "All 405 applicants will participate in Phase One." He turned on his heel. "Please follow me."

So they did. Everyone was silent, save for their footsteps, which echoed through the stingy air.

* * *

Riven focused on what the Phases were going to be like; she was so lost in thought, she hardly notice the pace in which they were walked picked up to a jog.

"W-what?" Leorio gasped. "The people in front just started running!"

"He's picked up the pace," Kurapika noted, narrowing his eyes.  
Suddenly, the man's voice rang out over the group.

"I neglected to introduce myself."I am Satotz, the first examiner. I will lead you to the second Phase." Riven's mouth dropped.

"Second Phase? What about the first?" questioned a bald examinee.

"It has already begun."

* * *

**Flashback (POV: Riven)**

'Stay calm,' Riven told herself. Her body trembled and her teeth chattered. 'Stay calm."

When the hill of fire wood was the height of a two story house, much larger than most buildings in the Dark Place, the women in white lined up in a row.

The wheat swayed ominously as everything grew silent. Simultaneously, all forty women, all facing them, sucked in a deep breath.

And then they were singing.

_"Hush-a-by, don't you cry, go to sleep my little baby,_

_When you wake, you shall have all the pretty little horses."_

Their voices harmonized wonderfully. She felt both of her sisters shift in their sleep, serene smiles on their faces.  
They took a step forward. The seven in the middle rose out of the group and circled the hundred of children, who were herded like wild animals. None of the other children were panicking.

_"Blacks and Bays, Dapples and Grays, coach and six a little horses._  
_Hush-a-by, don't you cry, go to sleep my little ba-by."_

The seven placed snow-white hands around their planted scepters and yanked, pulling them free.

Shaking, Riven lifted Rene up and gripped Senette's shoulder. The women, thankfully, seemed to wait for all of the exhausted children to rise groggily to their feet before preceding forward.

_"Baby, sleep now, don't you cry, and hush-a-by, and go to sleep."_

Senette yawned, her eyes still closed. Her expression was peaceful. She seemed oblivious to Riven's trembling; like she was hypnotized. Riven tightened her grip until her knuckles were white. She jerked her back sharply.

Gasping, with tears in the corners of her eyes, Senette blinked. "Wha-"

_"Hush-a-by, don't you cry, angels from on high shall guard you through the night, Clear and bright, this; their song to earth they send you."_

The kids stumbled to stay within the boundaries of the wires. Now they were right next to the fire pit.

Riven glanced at the kids around her. Every single one of them had their eyes closed. Senette was gasping and sucking air like she had never breathed in her life.  
"Rivvy!" She huffed, stumbling to her knees. Riven hoisted her arm around her waist and forced her to her feet.

Rene never felt so heavy.

_"Baby sleep, do not stir, sleep 'till morning light approaches,"_

The women detached the wire on one of the torches, leaving an opening. However, not a single child rushed to it.

_"Hush-a-by, don't you cry, go to sleep my little baby."_

The women parted ways and circled the fire pit, the children also separating. On the opposite side, they reattached the wire.

_"Blacks and, blacks and bays, Dapples and grays, coach and six a little horses."_

She had to get out. She wouldn't burn. She couldn't burn. With her heart in her throat, she devised a plan. Not a perfect one, but a plan. And a plan was hope.

Riven hugged Senette and kissed her on the forehead, handing her Rene, who was in her deepest slumber ever.

"Go when you have the chance," she ordered, her hand on the small of Senette's back as she nonchalantly closed the distance between her and one of the torches.

_"Hush-a-by, don't you cry, go to sleep my little baby."_

She held stopping breathing. Her fingers clenched. Sweat trailed down her brow. She couldn't see the closest woman's face, but she sensed it wasn't focused on her. She gave a meaningful glance at Senette.

Then she lashed out.

_"Go to sleep my little baby."_

The moment her tiny, child-like fingers grasped the pole in one hand, and the wire in the other, she felt fire.

She felt it burn past her skin, into her bones and innards. She didn't remember ever having severed the connection between the two, the scepter and wire, but the moment she did, the burning stopped. She would have collapsed on her knees, had not something brush past her.

When the whiteness of everything dulled, she made out a familiar silhouette sprinting up the distant hill they had just passed over, right before the pile of wood was made.

The girl, she pieced together, had something in her arms. She was very slow, like this something was very heavy.

Riven somehow managed to clear her mind from her stupor pong enough to realize the owner of the pole she had just grabbed could have easily grabbed Senette just then.

Her arm was outstretched, and she would have grabbed hold in an instant.

Luckily, still barely on her feet, Riven swung her whole body at this woman. She felt her legs collapse underneath her, and she was falling, right on the women. The two hit the grass together as Senette disappeared behind the large hill, Rene in her arms.

The edges of her vision grew black, until darkness consumed her.

* * *

Riven thought that the First Phase would have been more enjoyable if had everyone been less serious. Of course, she had been that way as well, but she felt she needed someone to lift her spirits first.

She had to run awkwardly, with her arm secured at her side, so Karasu would not get injured in his hiding place.

One by one, she watched examinees push past their limits and collapse on the ground. She wondered what happened to them, since some were too far away from the entrance to return in their condition.

She ran alongside Kurapika, who also seemed to be extremely focused.

She almost stumbled when a peculiar boy sped past her; on a skate board._ A skate board;_ Riven's mouth fell open. Leorio seemed to have a similar reaction when the boy rolled past him, too.

"Hey! Show some respect for the Hunter Exam!" he cried. The boy glanced at him like he was blemish on the face of the earth.  
"What do you mean?"  
"That's cheating! You can't ride a skateboard!"  
"Why not?"  
"It's an endurance test!" the man scowled.

"No it's not!" Gon interjected, appearing from behind. "The examiner only told us to follow him." Riven nodded with the boy; Satotz certainly hadn't mentioned any rules. If she had brought a car, she reasoned, she would be able to continue rightfully.

"C'mon, Gon," Leorio screeched. "Whose side are you on?" The question was promptly ignored by everything in existence.

The boy eyed Gon. He wore baggy shorts with a navy blue, long-sleeved undershirt underneath a white t-shirt. His hair was spiked and wild, and his eyes were a cat-like cerulean blue. His hands were in his pockets casually.

"How old are you?" He asked out of the blue. Gon raised his eyebrows.

"Huh? I'm twelve." The boy seemed to think for a moment before he shrugged his shoulders. In one fluid move, he dismounted his board by kicking down on the edge and flipping it in the air. He then caught it and tucked it underneath his arm, his hands still in his pockets.

"I guess I'll run too, then," he announced, matching Gon's pace. Riven's eyes lit up in wonder; she had seen a few tricks attempted in the Dark Place by a few neighborhood kids, but this was certainly more complicated.

"I'm Killua," the boy mentioned suddenly.  
"I'm Gon," he replied. The two swapped grins. Riven thought she saw something form instantaneously; something she had never witnessed before.

* * *

At approximately sixty kilometers, as Riven roughly calculated, Leorio had begun to fall behind. She and the other examinees were pulling ahead. Soon he was trotting, behind by a large gap. Riven didn't cease her running, but she still glanced back at him worriedly. She nearly trampled Gon, but side stepped at the last second and was able to avoid him. The boy had frozen in place, causing his new companion to stop as well. Riven felt her nerves twist when she noticed Leorio was no longer moving. She had to keep running, though, or she would never be able to kick herself in gear again; she had a rhythm she had to follow.

She turned forwards and concentrated. Left...left...left. Breathe in, now breathe out; and for the love of God, ignore the screaming of your muscles.

Her arm began to cramp from supporting Karasu in her jacket. She knew he only had a couple more hours of comatose, and then he would want to fly free; usually birds only sleep around three hours a day.

Riven wondered if disrupting his eternal clock was worth hiding him, but they wouldn't know until after the exams. Besides, it wasn't like she used the drug frequently; actually, the dose she had given her raven right before they boarded the ship docked at Whale Island had been her first.

Karasu wasn't as light as he appeared. His bones were hollow, and his head could easily tuck underneath his wing to conserve room, but he was a healthy bird, and thus nearly full grown.

She was so focused on her running she was nearly knocked over by Leorio, who had regained his speed somehow and was sprinting past her. Even though he accidently kicked dirt and debris in her face, she couldn't help but smile at him.

She realized she had lost track of Kurapika, but she didn't know where to begin looking. She decided to continue without worrying, since he was probably better off than she was.

* * *

**Flashback (POV Riven):**

* * *

Riven came to about twenty seconds later. She hoisted herself to her knees, trying her best to ignore her pounding head and aching limbs. Her muscles refused to contract, and she failed miserably to rise to her feet. The woman she had tackled was slowly accomplishing what Riven was attempting, although when she finally managed it, she staggered and held her head. Riven must had head-butted her hard.

She struggled to keep her eyes open and her breathing was irregular. Her heart felt as if somebody had stomped on it, and her skin was sweaty and plastered in grime.

Once the former Angel was fully recovered, she wrenched Riven to her feet in an iron grip. She was shoved backwards, collapsing back onto the soft wheat, encircled by the wire and scepters. She watched helplessly as the women reattached the copper wire to her pole, and wondered how she was not shocked.

Everything seemed more vivid now; her vision was crisp, her nose twitched from the scent of burning flesh, and the air seemed colder as she sucked it down. She felt her finger and toes tremble, but the tips were half numb. She felt a prickling behind her eyes; the kind you felt when your foot fell asleep. Still, she could not stand up.

The woman was back in her original position. She was the exact same distance away from the poles as the other six. The rest of the women made a larger circle around them.

The rest of the children had their eyes closed, whether they were standing or not.

The women's voices merged as one once more.

_"Hush-a-by-"_

An ear-piercing scream interrupted them as one of the women in white combusted into orange flames. Not just any woman; the one who Riven had tackled.

In an instant, she was nothing but ash, which swirled away in the wind like it was never there in the first place. Riven swallowed the bile that rose to her throat from the stench. She had to have been getting use to burning flesh by now, since that's all the people around here liked to do. Her stomach churned and her breathing stopped.

Then one of the women, speaking for the first time for all of them, turned to her; to Riven precisely, horror evident in her voice.

"She's too old!"

Murmurs, most too muffled to be understood, broke out and spread, identical to the fire that just appeared, and died down just as suddenly. However, a few were caught.

"If we had continued..."

"Her shield was broken when she made contact..."

"She was still at the orphanage, though..."

Riven felt her blood pound in her ears. They were talking about her? But she wasn't the only ten-year old-

She gasped, remembering.

Two days before this was her birthday; she had just turned eleven.

Therefore, she should have been transferred to the other orphanage; the real one.

Riven could do nothing but hope and pray as she helplessly watched two of the women stalk towards her.

Were they going to kill her?

* * *

**A/N**

**Hey there! Sorry, this chapter is a little shorter than usual. I just started Basketball, and it's REALLY important to me, so I've been focusing on it a lot lately. That's also why this chapter is a little late.**

** I really don't have a very good routine when it comes to writing, so updates won't be regular, but until Basketball is over they'll be a little slow.**

** Thank you to all who reviewed, you make me so happy!**

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**DifferentKindOfAsian; I certainly hope you stick around long enough to make it that far! Thank you so much for the review, I hope this update is soon **

**enough!**

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**PrincessWindNight: Although she didn't officially meet them, I hope this satifies you until they actually so! Thank you for reviewing (again :D)!  
**

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**Kilari: I love all reviews, no matter how short or weird they are :D**

** Your English doesn't actually seem that bad!**

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**Nispedana: Thank you SO MUCH! I love your reviews, if only because they are so long, and they help me improve my writing skills. I realized you were right about the 'third person' thing, so I went back and changed that, as well as all the typos and mistakes I could find.**

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**Anyway, In chapter one, I revised the scene where Riven found Karasu. No one really has to go back to read it or anything. I just added that a cuckoo bird pushed Karasu out of the nest, instead of having him just fall out on his own. Oh, yeah, and the title of the song is**

**'All the Pretty Little Horses'. It's a really pretty (in my opinion) lullaby.**

**Please, to those new readers; Review! I Love, love, LOVE THEM!**


	5. Spirit of a Dagger

Riven gasped as a threatening hill appeared from the darkness of the tunnel.

"Stairs!" She exclaimed. Her side was throbbing, and sweat prickled down her neck in rivulets. Her underarms were moist, and her breathing was ragged. She would have liked to say she was only struggling because she had to watch out for Karasu, but in all honesty, she wasn't sure.

Her senses were dull, and she longed to take a moment to catch her breath. However, she knew that, if she were to stop, she would never be able to continue. So she ran.

It was boring, running, but she focused so intently on it, she didn't notice Karasu begin to stir.

She took two stairs at a time since they were placed tightly together. She saw a few examinees surrounding her doing the same.

She calculated that they were about eighty kilometers from the entrance now. Around her, others dropped like flies. She had to step over some of the fallen so her rhythm would stay intact.

She accidentally stepped on one man's stomach, and he let out a groan of pain. She winced, but kept going.

Just when she thought she would collapse from exhaustion, a blinding light began to peak from atop the staircase. It made her eyes sore, but Riven still looked at it anyways.  
She needed to leave this tunnel, pronto. From the looks of it, half of the applicants that were in front of her were already free. Her pace picked up.

The cool air and fog hit her sweat-streaked face like a car crash. Her breath was visible, and goose-bumps rose on her arms. She twisted the band on her wrist to scratch underneath it, since her sweat collected there.

Her legs shook, and she was slightly hunched over (she could not do so all the way, since that would have meant crushing her bird friend). She was thankful for rest.

"Hey, Riven!" She heard. Her ears perked sat behind her, situated beside the white haired boy. Riven grinned at his endurance.

"Hello, Gon... This isn't the Second Phase is it?" she wondered, sweeping her eyes over the area. For the most part, the fog was too thick to see through, but there were black silhouettes scattered about.

"No," Gon replied. "This is still the First Phase." Riven moaned and shook her head.

'inhumane...' she thought, nodding to herself.

"Kurapika!" The boy cheered. Riven peered behind her to see the blonde, in all of his sweaty glory, emerge from the smoke. He was no longer draped in his royal blue cloak with red symbols, but a white training outfit. A hunched figure followed, practically crawling. It took her a moment to realize that the figure was Leorio. Riven knelt by his side and helped him rise to his feet to finish the last three steps out of the cove. He was sucking in air so hard that she believed he never breathed properly in his whole life. He was also shirtless, she noticed, her cheeks tinted pink. Once he was on his feet (bent over his knees), she pulled away from him.

"Is this our destination?" Kurapika asked, examining the fog.

"No..."

"I see..." he closed his eyes, obviously disappointed. When he deplaned his orbs, he grew tense. "The fog is beginning to clear...!" The murky air dissipated gradually. Individual's regained their color and forms, until Satotz, all the way in front of the group, was visible as well.

"The Numere Wetlands; also known as Swindler's Swamp," he introduced after the cave entrance was sealed shut. "We have to cross these wetlands to reach the Second Phase. It's home to many bizarre creatures and animals, who prey on humans. If you get fooled by them..." he trailed off in warning. "You're dead. Be careful. They will try any means necessary. An ecosystem built on deceit; hence the name Swindler's Swamp. Stick very close to me so you won't be fooled."

Leorio appeared skeptical. "How can they trick us if we know what they really want to do?"  
Riven tensed; a presence was approaching the group from behind. Seconds later, she heard a yell.

"Don't listen to him!" The surprised (and some not surprised) examinees whipped around as an injured man limped from behind the corner of the cave's entrance.  
His eye was swollen shut and blood streamed from several cuts. His breathing was ragged and he appeared to be burdened by luggage on his back. "He's lying!" He exclaimed. "He's not really the examiner! I am!" Murmuring erupted from the crowd.

"He's not really the examiner?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"What's going on?!"

"He's a beast that lives here in the swamp!" The injured newcomer continued. He glared fiercely at Satotz. "He only wants to lure you into his nest so he can devour you! Don't follow him! You'll die!" He yanked out a monkey. A dead monkey that had pink hair flipping out on the end. Its tongue lolled out and the eyes were rolled back inside its head.

"Wow!" Gon gasped. "It looks just like Satotz-san!" Riven glanced at the examiner to see if his feelings were spared; after all, Gon had foolishly said he looked like a monkey.

"This is what he really looks like!" the newcomer insisted. "He's a Man-faced ape; one of the beast that dwell here in the Numere wetlands. They love the taste of fresh human meat." His tone darkened at such vile suggestions.  
"However, their limbs are incredibly weak. So, they disguise themselves as human to lure people into their home. He plans to devour each and every one of you!" The man spat at Satotz.

Riven was a little annoyed. Not only did more than one applicant seem to turn on Satotz, but Leorio was one of them.

"Bastard!" he bared his teeth. Riven sighed. Obviously, Leorio answered his question from earlier.

'How can they trick us when we already know what they really want to do?'

Riven may have been fooled as well, but logically, Satotz would never had warned them about beasts in the first place. He would have simply let them back into his home, without any of the applicants worrying about who to trust. Also, the accuser had said they had weak limbs; if that were the case, why had Satotz made them run so far? He certainly hadn't broken a sweat.

Faster than Riven could see, the man collapsed. With a knot in her stomach, she saw two playing cards deeply embedded in his chest. Blood seeped into the frozen earth. The supposedly dead beast, which fell to the grass when the man was defeated, blinked in surprise. In a frenzy, it leapt to its feet and scurried off. Murmuring of shock erupted from the other applicants.

Satotz also had two cards in his hands. When a spine chilling chuckled filled the dumb-struck crowd, Riven figured what happened.

"Well," Hisoka mocked, "that settles it. You're the real one," he looked at the still-standing man. "Examiners are all Hunter's from the Hunter Committee. They should be able to stop a weak attack such as that." He shuffled his deck while Satotz tossed his cards to the side.

"I will take that as a compliment. However, if you attack me again, no matter the reason, I will report you for turning on an examiner and you'll be disqualified from the examination. Are we clear?"

The jester smirked. "Sure."

A horrid caw caused most to turn to the dead body. Seven vultures, kinds Riven had never read about, swarmed it and pecked at its exposed flesh. The sight made bile rise to her throat, but Riven refused to turn away. Eating the dead was something she had done herself, but she had cooked the meat over a fire and whatever she ate did not look that human.

Most examinees seemed to have similar reactions, save for a few.

* * *

It was not until after two minutes of the resumed running did Karasu finally awake. Riven felt him stir, so she tried to casually pull away from the group. She released the drowsy bird from her jacket and urged him to take to the sky quickly so the no one noticed him.

"Follow the man in front," she whispered, just as he fluttered his wings and disappeared inside the foliage. Riven could hear the rushing of air as he flew slightly ahead of her.

* * *

It didn't take very long for Riven to feel the aching return. She tried to focus on a some men in front of her, but the fog from earlier began to seep in. Soon all that she saw were silhouettes. She began to fret; were there traps ahead from the animals? After she saw what the beasts were capable of, she didn't knew if she could see through their tricks.

She whistled twice in quick succession and tilted her head. In response, there was a at first a distant caw, and then a fluttering. It increased in sound and speed until Karasu broke through the fog. He perched on Riven's wrist.

"What-?" Her eyes widened. As fast as she could, she flung her bird in the air and leapt back, drawing her knife. Karasu squeaked in surprise and landed on a nearby tree branch. Flicking her wrist, she barely gave the bird time to get settled as her knife pierced his heart. Karasu dropped to the ground with a thud, dead.

Riven dashed over to the body, which was quickly bleeding out. She crouched, tore the dagger free, and pressed her forefinger and thumb to her lips for a second time. A single high pitched whistle escaped, and it echoed through the fog. Riven could no longer see the rest of the crowd. She rose to her feet as the real Karasu flapped his wings and landed on her outstretched arm.

"Good boy," she smiled, wiping her blade clean of blood. She sighed, never letting her guard down. She glanced back at the dead beast, who was pretending to be her bird. One of the creatures must have seen her and Karasu earlier.

Luckily, the beast had made a large mistake. When Riven had whistled twice, she had been signaling for Karasu to caw for her so she could follow the sound and prevent getting lost.

The sound she had heard first must have been from the real Karasu, whom had done as instructed and gave her his position. The poor beast hadn't known she didn't call Karasu to come, which was when she whistled twice. At closer inspection, Riven wondered how the beast expected to trick her in the first place. The body seemed much bigger than her feathery friend, and the shape of its beak was off. She turned her back and stroked Karasu.

"Follow..." She froze. Did Karasu have anyone's scent memorized besides her own

She would have to pray that he could recognize one of her new companion's scent, and match it with his name. Usually he was sharp, but expecting him to be familiar enough with someone in two days time... She gritted her teeth. Would she fail the Hunter Exam during the first phase? Was she that incompetent?

Gon had to save her from plummeting into the sea back on the ship. Kurapika had, indirectly, helped her figure out the answer to the Two-choice quiz, and Leorio had doctored that man while she stood around, useless, while her bird was... Following the blonde.

"Follow Kurapika!" She ordered, relieved. During the encounter of the Kiriko in the woods, Karasu had recognized Kurapika's name and scent when she commanded her bird to keep tabs on him. Karasu cawed in reply and took off into the air, the girl dashing after him.

* * *

**Flashback (Riven POV)**

The woman who was closest at the moment approached Riven like a tiger. There was a very small movement in her hand region, but Riven caught it. She had skillfully drawn a dagger from a hiding spot and she gripped it threateningly.

The girl attempted to rise to her feet, but her legs shook too violently to stay upright. She could only kneel there, wide-eyed, and watch her imminent death come closer.

She sore she saw the woman's eyes behind her cowl. They were such a beautiful brown, Riven found herself envying them.

'Not the best time,' she shook her head and tried to focus. 'You've got to stand up,' she told herself. 'Stand up and run away. You can't burn. You can't die; not yet. You finally just saw color. It was so gorgeous, that you want to see more. You wish to see the rest of the world, right?'

She would liked to have said that she stopped shaking in that moment and got to her feet just in time to out-maneuver the woman and run away to safety so that she could reunite with Senette and Rene, and they all escaped together and found a nice home away from the Dark Place with adoptive parents who loved them unconditionally. Instead, her legs continued to tremble, and the woman was now detaching the wire from the pole. Now she was between Riven and her only possible exit. If she were to be shocked again, she would probably die. She wondered faintly if that was the reason she was unable to move.

Although the women was closing in on her unceremoniously, it felt as if she taunted Riven with the knife and chose to approach her with a slow pace.

In seconds, the women in white clasped her willowy fingers around Riven's wrist and yanked her up while she brought the knife down. Riven, more on instinct than strategy, attempted to grab the woman's own wrist to stop the steel weapon. She missed, and the blade slipped through her arm's soft flesh. Riven screamed in agony, and everything slowed down. The dagger was still embedded in her wrist, all the way to the hilt. Blood trickled down in streams. It felt as if she was burning again, the pain was so sharp and hot.

But the pain seemed to wake her up somehow. Before the Witch (as Riven christened them now, since it fit the women better than 'angel') could retract her arm, the knife along with it, Riven kicked out her leg as hard as she could. She nailed the Witch right on the side of the knee, and she collapsed. Riven hadn't heard a crunching sound, but she had _felt_ something crack.

The Witch gasped in surprise before shouting, "Demon child!" When Riven made a mad dash for freedom, she yelped, "Stop her!"

The other women were ready, but were too spread out to concretely stop the girl from fleeing. On grabbed her by her long hair and began to drag her to the ground, but Riven balanced herself in a stance and threw her body weight backwards. The top of her head smacked the other woman in the face, causing her nose to spurt out fresh blood from behind the cowl. Her grip on Riven's locks loosened just enough for the girl to forcibly yank her hand off. She bolted off again, her breathing frantic and her injured and bleeding wrist held to her chest to cease the flow. Several Witches started after her.

"Stop!" The women froze and turned to the woman holding her broken nose. Her voice was nosily and flat. "It's not worth touching her! You'll ignite if we try the ritual!"

"But two of you have touched her already!" Another argued. Riven was no longer in sight since she ducked behind one of the large hills. She could have listened in on them if she tried to, but she continued running back the way they had come the night before. Besides, the blood pounded too loudly in her ears.

"She has a severed artery," one added. "She'll die out in a few minutes."

"But how would we know?"

"We'll wait until tomorrow to be sure."

...

After the ritual was completed the next day, the Witches' body count was three.

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**AN: I'm sorry this is so short and late! Really, I am! I've been so busy lately with basketball and Christmas, that I've hardly had time to write!**

**Anyway, so I've realized that this is sort of following the original Hunter X Hunter plot really closely, despite having a new character added. I promise that, as the story progresses, that I'll branch off a little more and add more with Riven and such.**

**But I've got awesome news; my team's season so far:**

**3-1! Also, who just got 1st in a traveling tournament!**

**And the game we lost, the score was only 23-24! We played a much bigger school and notorious team, so I'm proud of how we did.**

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**Reviews:**

**Guest: Thank you! My team is doing very well!**

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**DifferentKindOfAsian: Thank you for the support! Hope you have fun with the B-Ball!**

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**Kyoichi Amaya: THANK YOU! Seriously, that means a lot. I hope this story lasts a long time! BTW, I like your name!**

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**PrincessWindNight: I plan to have Riven and Killua bonding time throughout the story, as well as with other characters as well. I love your reviews so much!**

**I've helped you? How so?**

**: Thank you, thank you, thank you!**

**I'm trying to make her relationship with Kurapika gradual, so it won't pop up for a while yet**

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**Oh yeah; I found the perfect picture for the story! So, see you next time!**


	6. Spirit of a Change

**An/ Hey guys. I know, I know. "I thought you were dead!" is probably what you were thinking.**

**I mentioned it would take me a while to update because I was really focused on my basketball. I'm happy to say that our record this season was 17-2 (Counting all of our games in tournaments as well). I'm proud of my team, and how much I've improved (I wasn't a starter until the second game, but I feel like I earned it).**

** But enough about basketball. It might take me awhile to get back in the swing of writing, so it might be awhile until the next chapter... and I just started another fanfic. Sigh. I'll never learn. BTW, go check it out! I know, I know, advertising my own story is a disgrace! How dare I, right?**

**Hey... call me an idiot... but I **_**just**_** noticed that Riven and Raven are really similar...**

**Man, that's so cheesy! It was a total accident! Karasu was originally going to be a crow, since he would be a little smaller and more convenient, but then I set my heart on the whole 'spirit raven' thing and I forgot! Riven has it'd own special meaning; to tear apart violently, or something like that. I'll get into that when I get into her parents and the necklace and stuff. I feel like I'm stupid.**

**Important Announcement: Okay, not really that important. I just wanted to inform all of my lovely readers that I am changing the direction I'm taking this story. I haven't changed anything from my previous chapters, so don't worry about that. I'm sorry if you had your heart set on reading how Riven catches Hisoka's attention, but that's what's going. It just doesn't fit, and I think the changes are far better. I've already changed the Summary. Sorry for such a long AN.**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 6: Spirit of a Change**

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Riven could barely see anything as her feet pounded into the slick grass with muffled thuds. Her breath was visible in the cool air, but she was still hot from the physical exertion. Karasu had flown low in altitude thoughtfully so that she wouldn't lose him, but his white form blended into the fog uncannily. It was as if he were the fog itself.

_'If another monster were to take his place again,_' Riven thought grimly, _'I'm as good as dead.'_ She would have to trust the Karasu ahead of her, whom vanished for minutes on end.

Finding Kurapika had been taking longer than she expected. A feeling of dread hit her when she realized there was a possibility that the blonde had gotten separated from the main group as well; then she'd really be dead.

After many anxious minutes, Karasu cawed, increasing his speed. Riven paused... that had been a warning signal, not something that meant he had found her 'friend'. Riven slipped into a defensive stance. Her alertness rose and her shoulders tensed. She made sure her legs were steady and balance by sliding them apart to her shoulder's length. Her eyes shot rapidly through the fog as if she could dissipate with her glares. No such thing happened.

Karasu began to cautiously circle overhead, above the body of fog, so Riven only got one or two glimpses of him in her peripheral view before he disappeared again, like a ghost. He didn't flap his wings unless he had too so he wouldn't make any noise.

Riven decided that stopping would not help the fact that she was separated from the examiner, but she didn't really want to dive headfirst into a monster's trap. She could hear her own heart beat and her labored breath since the silence was so chilling. Yet she saw nothing.

Slowly, in a circle, Riven glanced all around her. The fog was too thick. She couldn't stop for long, so she softly whistled to Karasu, this time without her fingers, and cautiously followed him as he swooped down near her head and rose back up, continuing the way they were headed beforehand.

The pace was slow, and Riven barely slipped her feet off the ground to silence her presence. She reached her senses out and -

Riven gasped as something dark and chilly ran down her spine. It was evil and black, and it made her heart freeze.

"That presence..." She murmured, her eyes wide. "It's that clown." Without another thought, she spun on her heel and dashed the other direction, whistling obnoxiously loud for Karasu and running blindly.

Needless to say the Jester creeped her out.

Thoughts ran through her head like rapid fire. She hadn't even seen the pale man, but she certainly didn't want to. Her pace began to slow a tad when she reasoned that avoiding someone wasn't worth failing the exam (she wasn't running in direction of the group, that she was sure of). Then another thought hit her; Karasu had been leading her to Kurapika, and then they had stumbled (sort of) on Hisoka the Magician. So the crazy clown was with her companion.

Before she even realized it Riven had stopped running. Kurapika had helped her! If he hadn't figured out how to answer the 'Two-Answer Quiz' she wouldn't be here right now. Not to mention when her had caught her, Gon, and that sailor boy Katsuo from plunging into the ocean. Here she was, leaving him behind and practically condemning him to failure, or, worse, death. What kind of person was she? True, being a good person wasn't really her goal in life, and she certainly hadn't asked Kurapika, or Gon, or Leorio, for any help. Her plan to pass the Hunter Exam was to go in, avoid enemies, avoid alliances, and avoid any other person. However, on the boat, when Gon had asked her to sing for the sick men aboard, she couldn't say no to him. She had discovered how lonely it had been by herself, and she wasn't use to having someone be kind to her.

Well, he wasn't committing a good deed or anything for her, but he had _talked_ to her. And then Kurapika and Leorio had too, and then she felt herself grow happy.

She barely even knew these people, but they had brought out of side of her she hadn't realized she possessed. She had never been so open in her life, not that there was anyone to share things with. But Riven knew she couldn't just leave Kurapika to fend off Hisoka by himself, even though she probably wouldn't be much help. But she had to do _something_.

That's what Riven told herself when she spun around and ran back through the fog, not bothering to whistle to let Karasu know she had switched paths.

* * *

Hisoka was there, alright. Riven hesitated before entering the clearing. Her biggest advantage was stealth. If she could, she didn't want Hisoka to know she was nearby at all. There was, oddly enough, a large circle of nothing where the fog had thinned. Riven was close enough to finally see, if only a little bit.

In the clearing were two shadows; both were tall and muscular, one pinkish and the other blue. It took a moment to realize that it was Hisoka and Leorio, but there was no doubt about it. Riven slipped her dagger from her boot - the same one that had given her the scar in her wrist, which was now covered in a velvet band - and tensed her muscles.

For several long moments, all the two men did was stare at each other. They were probably talking, but Riven was out of earshot.

Before she could comprehend what their silhouettes had done, Leorio was down on his knees and Hisoka had vanished twice, only to reappear twice. A cold sweat ran down her back. Leorio was taken out before she could even blink, so what good would she do?

Hisoka was suddenly knocked off balance. Riven jumped, narrowing her eyes and slightly retreating back to the thicker foggy area. Something had appeared from nowhere and hit the clown in the face, like a baseball or...

Riven blinked when Gon entered the clearing across from her, since there was no other reaction she could muster. The boy had casted his fishing rod at Hisoka and blind-sided him with the lure. This was just too weird, and she felt like she was being left out of a bad inside joke that people cringe at instead of laugh at. She was too far away to hear anything, but from body language even a fool could see the tenseness. Riven regretted not calling Karasu to follow her. He would have been just as confused, and he was a different species.

The fog began to rise again, thick, heavy, and impossible to see through. Riven was forced to precede forward so she could still monitor Hisoka, Gon, and Leorio. She kept an open mind about where Kurapika was; he was sensible, so maybe her ran away, or avoided the clown all together. His absence was kind of funny; Riven had rushed to see if he needed help, only to find that he was never threatened in the first place. Now she was in range of the creepy, dangerous jester. From the looks of it, Gon was holding his own -

Riven waved a large cloud of fog away, only to grip her dagger tightly in front of her. She had had less than three seconds of a fuzzy view, and now Hisoka was crushing Gon's windpipe. The boy was so short that his feet were about a yard off of the grass. He kicked furiously to no avail. Riven caught a glimpse of Leorio sprawled on the ground, unconscious (at least, he better had been. If he was faking it to save his own skin, Riven would have thrown him off of a cliff). She had also missed what had happened to him.

Before she could comprehend what she was doing, her dagger was already leaving her hand. Her arm felt sore immediately afterwards and she swore under her breath. She had over shot the blade without intending to, and had most likely pulled a shoulder muscle.

_'Actually,'_ Riven thought, watching the knife disappear in the heavy air, _'that might have been only an inch or two off. I guess I'm not as strong as I thought.' _ She heard a tearing and ripping sound that signaled a hit target (or something close to that). Without thinking, she dashed from her safety and entered the clearing.

The dagger had merely grazed Hisoka on the shoulder, tearing a hole in his tight, white shirt. Only three or four drops of blood were shed.

_'Damn,_' Riven cursed silently. She had been aiming for his heart, so her aim must have been off from the little visibility. Then she had overthrown it, and wasted her element of surprise. What a huge help she had been (note the sarcasm). Actually, Gon was several feet away, crouching in a fighting stance. Hisoka had dropped him when he felt cold metal contact his skin. Whether that was out of surprise, fear, or pain, Riven didn't care. It was very possible he had seen it coming and dropped the boy so that he could dodge, but it would have made more sense to just block with Gon's body.

Either way, something had gone right for Riven.

And then it all went wrong again.

Hisoka was staring at his shoulder wound, a scratch, really, with a strange expression. It was a mixture of a little surprise and shock, wonder, satisfaction, and realization (what he had exactly realized, Riven had no clue). But it was mostly a bemused face; like she was a toddler who had beat him in a game of checkers because he wasn't paying attention. He looked up at her and their eyes met for a brief moment. The hair on the back of Riven's neck rose straight up and she shivered as something ran down her back like a rat. Before she could say anything, Hisoka broke out in a twisted smirk,

"Oh, I see... You wish to be tested as well." Riven blinked rapidly because she didn't understand him. Did Hisoka mean tested? Just what exactly went through his sick mind?

"W-what?" Riven managed, sweat breaking down her brow. She took three slow and deliberate steps towards Gon, who was also watching this man warily. Hisoka raised an eyebrow, like he had proven she had cheated in their game.

"You're aim is pretty good, even if you were still a little off," he said to her, chuckling. Riven tried her best to ignore him, steadily closing the distance between her and Gon. The boy did the same, probably sharing her thoughts. If they could get together and devise a plan, maybe they could flee with Leorio and survive. Passing the phase was out of the picture, since they were completely and utterly lost. And Riven was okay with that; she had given up becoming a Hunter that year the moment she had realized Kurapika was somewhere beyond Hisoka.

Now living until the exam next year was her goal. She needed to have that Hunter card. She needed information on her sisters, on the witches, on The Dark Place; on anything related to that fearful night. She needed answers, and she needed someone to share them with. She couldn't get that card if she were to die now.

Gon was directly by her side now. She glanced at him and prepared to leap forward. Instead, a crackling and a voice interrupted the tense silence, even though it was impossible to understand from Riven's position.

Hisoka held his hand up and made Gon and her freeze. The jester bent down and slung a very heavy-looking Leorio over his shoulder, making it look easy. Riven couldn't move; she was petrified. Gon seemed to be in the same situation, since he had pale beads of sweat collecting on his skin.

Hisoka smirked at the two of them. "Well, that was fun. You two pass, so become good hunters, okay?" Riven caught Gon hesitantly nodding his head in response in the corner of her eye. "Good boy." And with that, Hisoka spun on his heel and vanished inside a cloud of fog. Riven relaxed her shoulders.

* * *

Moments later, Kurapika, to Riven's great surprise, dashed into the clearing, demanding to know if she and Gon were alright. Riven felt her last hope die. Kurapika really had been separated from the examiner, and now she had no one to follow. Karasu could probably recognize Leorio's scent as a friend, but he wouldn't know what human word to match him up with. Speaking of Karasu, Riven heard him chirping in ignorance on a nearby tree, the very one that her dagger was lodged in. She approached it and wrestled it out of the thick trunk. Discreetly (at least she hoped it was), she wiped the smeared blood on her black jacket and returned the blade to her boot.

"We're okay," Gon answered for them, motioning Riven and Kurapika to follow him. They did so obediently, sending each other curious glances. Riven whistled to her pet bird, and he swooped down over her head and rose back up in an answer, suddenly soaring above them.

"Where are you going, Gon?" Riven asked after several quiet moments. They had soon found their way out of the grassy fields and into a forest path. Gradually, the fog sank lower and lower until it was no more. Riven felt as though she had just woken up from a dream.

"We're going to Phase Two," Gon exclaimed happily. "Leorio has such strong cologne that I can smell it from here." Riven coughed.

* * *

**AN: I apologize for being so late. This was a very short chapter two... oh, well. Review!**

**~Mao**


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